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

With two games left, Los Angeles is in position for the second Western Conference wild card and fourth in the Pacific Division, just two points behind second-place Edmonton. —CBS News, 14 Apr. 2026

With two games left, the Kings (35-26-19, 89 points) are in position for the second Western Conference wild-card spot, one point behind the Utah Mammoth, who hold the first wild card, and one point behind the Ducks, who are third in the Pacific Division. —Daily News, 14 Apr. 2026

With two games left, the Kings are in position for the second Western Conference wild card and fourth in the Pacific Division, just two points behind second-place Edmonton. —Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 14 Apr. 2026

With two games left, Los Angeles is in position for the second Western Conference wild card and fourth in the Pacific Division, just two points behind second-place Edmonton. —ABC News, 13 Apr. 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