wild card

noun

1

: an unknown or unpredictable factor

2

: one picked to fill a leftover playoff or tournament berth after regularly qualifying competitors have all been determined

3

usually wildcard

ˈwī(-ə)l(d)-ˌkärd 

: a symbol (such as ? or *) used in a keyword database search to represent the presence of zero, one, or more than one unspecified characters

Examples of wild card in a Sentence

The joker is a wild card.

Taxes are the wild card in this election.

The team made it into the play-offs as the wild card.

Recent Examples on the Web

And the reasons go beyond the ongoing 23-8 stretch that has catapulted Miami to the third wild card spot (at 49-42) entering this week’s six-game homestand before the All-Star break. — Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 7 July 2026

After the All-Star break and once teams shift their focus away from the draft, the Mets, at 37-53 and 11 1/2 games out of a wild card, figure to announce their intention to sell on the trade market. — Will Sammon, New York Times, 6 July 2026

Earn the last wild card this year, and build a more promising youth movement. — Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 July 2026

Their first two doubles titles at Wimbledon, in 2000 and 2002, came as wild cards. — Adam Zagoria, Forbes.com, 4 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

wild card, playing card with arbitrarily determined value

First Known Use

1971, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for wild card

• asgard
• backyard
• barnyard
• blackguard
• bombard
• brickyard
• canard
• churchyard
• coastguard
• courtyard
• debarred
• diehard