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 How to pronounce wild card (audio)
: 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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
But injuries and performances are the great wild cards, and the Braves have been on the wrong end of those facets plenty of times in recent years. — Chad Bishop, AJC.com, 16 Oct. 2026 The Phillies nearly blew a four-game lead for a wild card in the final week of the regular season, then lost in three games to the Atlanta Braves in the NL Wild Card Series. — ABC News, 14 Oct. 2026 Without Carmella there as a potential wild card, the ladies arrive in Tokyo and are forced to retreat to their familiar shticks. — Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 9 Oct. 2026 Since Cashman got rid of Joe Girardi for Boone, the Yankees have never advanced past a division series as a wild card. — Mike Lupica, New York Daily News, 8 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for wild card

Word History

Etymology

wild card, playing card with arbitrarily determined value

First Known Use

1971, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of wild card was in 1971

Rhymes for wild card

See All Rhymes for wild card

Browse Nearby Words

wild caraway
wild card
wild carrot
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Wild card.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wild%20card. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on wild card

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about wild card

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of fervid

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All