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

YouTube is also a wild card and could factor into NFL rights negotiations in 2029. — Bobby Burack Outkick, FOXNews.com, 24 Sep. 2026

The Diamondbacks and Padres both won, leaving the Phillies tied with the Chicago Cubs at 87-71 for the second National League wild card — one game behind San Diego. — ABC News, 23 Sep. 2026

The White Sox remained a game behind the Cleveland Guardians in the division and hold a three-game lead over the Houston Astros and Toronto Blue Jays for the third wild card. — CBS News, 21 Sep. 2026

Minnesota remains technically still in the race for the American League wild card, but has almost no chance. — Los Angeles Times, 20 Sep. 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