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
While not projected to be a strong contender in the American League West, the Angels have won seven of their last 10 and were 40-40, one game out of the final AL wild card spot as the midway point approached.
—
Jack Magruder, Forbes.com, 28 June 2025
Another wild card: Schumer and his fellow Democrats are considering a move to ask the Senate clerk to read the entire bill on the Senate floor, which would add hours to the floor debate.
—Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 27 June 2025
With the Rangers holding on for dear life in the American League West race and 2 1/2 games out of a wild card spot, Passan and McDaniel believe the odds of Garcia being traded are pretty high.
—Drew Vonscio, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 June 2025
The federal government’s commitment to supporting other efforts like Presidio Palms is perhaps the biggest wild card.
—Blake Nelson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for wild card
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Jack Magruder, Forbes.com, 28 June 2025
Another wild card: Schumer and his fellow Democrats are considering a move to ask the Senate clerk to read the entire bill on the Senate floor, which would add hours to the floor debate.
—Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 27 June 2025
With the Rangers holding on for dear life in the American League West race and 2 1/2 games out of a wild card spot, Passan and McDaniel believe the odds of Garcia being traded are pretty high.
—Drew Vonscio, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 June 2025
The federal government’s commitment to supporting other efforts like Presidio Palms is perhaps the biggest wild card.
—Blake Nelson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 June 2025
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 4 Jul. 2025.
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