wildcat

1 of 3

noun

wild·​cat ˈwī(-ə)l(d)-ˌkat 

plural wildcats

1

a

: either of two Old World cats (Felis silvestris or F. lybica) that resemble but are heavier in build than the domestic tabby cat and are usually held to be among the ancestors of the domestic cat

b

or plural wildcat : any of various small or medium-sized cats (such as the lynx or ocelot)

c

: a feral domestic cat

2

: a savage quick-tempered person

3

a

: wildcat money

b

: a wildcat oil or gas well

c

: a wildcat strike

wildcat

2 of 3

adjective

1

a(1)

: issued by a financially irresponsible banking establishment

wildcat currency

(2)

: financially irresponsible or unreliable

wildcat banks

b

: operating, produced, or carried on outside the bounds of standard or legitimate business practices

wildcat insurance schemes

—H. H. Reichard

c

: of, relating to, or being an oil or gas well drilled in territory not known to be productive

d

: initiated by a group of workers without formal union approval or in violation of a contract

a wildcat strike

wildcat work stoppages

2

a

of a cartridge : having a bullet of standard caliber but using an expanded case or a case designed for a bullet of greater caliber necked down for the smaller bullet

b

of a firearm : using wildcat cartridges

wildcat

3 of 3

verb

wildcatted; wildcatting

intransitive verb

: to prospect and drill an experimental oil or gas well or sink a mine shaft in territory not known to be productive

Examples of wildcat in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The wildcats are also known to linger near cities or towns where food is plentiful. —Shelby Slade, AZCentral.com, 1 Aug. 2025

Surrounding Segura and the teachers and families in the gym were paintings depicting Webb’s mascot, the wildcat, competing against mascots from other district middle schools. —Keri Heath, Austin American Statesman, 30 July 2025

Adjective

Along with more work under center for Prescott in what Schottenheimer has said has his quarterback thinking back to his college days at Mississippi State, the new Cowboys’ play-caller also said that pistol and wildcat formations will be coming to the offense. —Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 July 2025

After the wildcat ways of the nickelodeon period gave way to the assembly line machinery of the studio system, stunt people — out of a sense of professionalism not to say self-preservation — embraced their vocation as serious business. —Thomas Doherty, HollywoodReporter, 14 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adjective

1838, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

Verb

circa 1903, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing wildcat

• wildcat strike

Rhymes for wildcat

• begat
• bobcat
• chitchat
• doormat
• ducat
• eclat
• format
• hazmat
• muskrat
• nonfat
• polecat
• thereat

Kids Definition

wildcat

noun

wild·​cat

ˈwī(ə)l(d)-ˌkat

plural wildcats or wildcat

1

: any of various small or medium-sized cats (as the lynx or ocelot)

2

: a savage quick-tempered person