Illustration of tiger
- tiger 1a
plural tigers
1
plural also tiger
a
: a large Asian carnivorous mammal (Panthera tigris) of the cat family having a usually tawny coat transversely striped with black
b
: any of several large wildcats (such as the jaguar or cougar)
c
: a domestic cat with striped pattern
d
Australia
: tasmanian tiger
2
a
: a fierce, daring, or aggressive person or quality
aroused the tiger in him
a tiger for work
b
: someone or something (such as a situation) that is formidable or impossible to control
how the tiger of inflation can be tamed—
J. A. Davenport
—often used in the phrases ride a tiger and have a tiger by the tail
J. A. Davenport3
British
: a groom in livery
tigerishly
adverb
tigerishness
noun
Examples of tiger in a Sentence
He was a tiger on the basketball court.
even the best defense can't keep that tiger from scoring
Recent Examples on the Web
Daniel Petroni Photography The home’s massive bar is wrapped in tiger skin onyx that glows after dark.
—Ray Parisi, CNBC, 7 Feb. 2025
Other pieces portrayed wild boar, tigers and saiga antelope — which inhabited the region at the time.
—Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 30 Jan. 2025
Though all tiger keelbacks snack on poisonous toads, some crave the amphibians more than others.
—Ryley Graham, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Jan. 2025
Dahal of Druk Investments and Holdings admits Bhutan will need to build reservoir dams to maximize its hydropower potential, alarming environmentalists already worried about how the GMC will affect Bhutan’s endangered monkeys, tigers, rhinoceros, blue sheep, and snow leopards.
—By Charlie Campbell/gelephu, Bhutan, TIME, 16 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for tiger 
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Ray Parisi, CNBC, 7 Feb. 2025
Other pieces portrayed wild boar, tigers and saiga antelope — which inhabited the region at the time.
—Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 30 Jan. 2025
Though all tiger keelbacks snack on poisonous toads, some crave the amphibians more than others.
—Ryley Graham, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Jan. 2025
Dahal of Druk Investments and Holdings admits Bhutan will need to build reservoir dams to maximize its hydropower potential, alarming environmentalists already worried about how the GMC will affect Bhutan’s endangered monkeys, tigers, rhinoceros, blue sheep, and snow leopards.
—By Charlie Campbell/gelephu, Bhutan, TIME, 16 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for tiger
Dictionary Entries Near tiger
Cite this Entry
“Tiger.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tiger. Accessed 12 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
tiger
noun
ti·ger
ˈtī-gər 
plural tigers also tiger
1
: a large Asian flesh-eating mammal of the same family as the domestic cat with a coat that is typically light brown to orange with mostly vertical black stripes
2
: any of several large wildcats (as the jaguar or cougar)
3
: a domestic cat with a striped coat
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