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
But the supreme being and patron of all pontiffs has to be considered a wild card.
—
Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 4 June 2026
One big wild card is Kohl Rosario, who was the most efficient scorer on the EYBL circuit last year before reclassifying to the Class of 2025.
—Cj Moore
june 2, New York Times, 2 June 2026
Not that securing a wild card would seem to present any issue for the woman who won 73 singles titles and earned $95 (aside from her commercial endorsements) during her legendary earlier career.
—Corey Seymour, Vogue, 1 June 2026
Williams will play under a wild card entry in the doubles bracket, which kicks off on June 8.
—Bill Chappell, NPR, 1 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for wild card
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Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 4 June 2026
One big wild card is Kohl Rosario, who was the most efficient scorer on the EYBL circuit last year before reclassifying to the Class of 2025.
—Cj Moore
june 2, New York Times, 2 June 2026
Not that securing a wild card would seem to present any issue for the woman who won 73 singles titles and earned $95 (aside from her commercial endorsements) during her legendary earlier career.
—Corey Seymour, Vogue, 1 June 2026
Williams will play under a wild card entry in the doubles bracket, which kicks off on June 8.
—Bill Chappell, NPR, 1 June 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 5 Jun. 2026.
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