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
: 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
The Mammoth hold the first wild card in the Western Conference, five points ahead of Nashville.
—
Los Angeles Times, 23 Mar. 2026
For me, that places the Rangers as a fuzzy wild card contender.
—Tim Cowlishaw, Dallas Morning News, 23 Mar. 2026
The Mammoth hold the first wild card in the Western Conference, five points ahead of Nashville.
—CBS News, 22 Mar. 2026
The Kings are two points behind Nashville for the final wild card.
—ABC News, 22 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for wild card
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Los Angeles Times, 23 Mar. 2026
For me, that places the Rangers as a fuzzy wild card contender.
—Tim Cowlishaw, Dallas Morning News, 23 Mar. 2026
The Mammoth hold the first wild card in the Western Conference, five points ahead of Nashville.
—CBS News, 22 Mar. 2026
The Kings are two points behind Nashville for the final wild card.
—ABC News, 22 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for wild card
Cite this Entry
“Wild card.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wild%20card. Accessed 26 Mar. 2026.
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