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
Healthcare executive Rick Jackson also entered the race late, adding another wild card to an already fragmented field.
—
Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 16 May 2026
The Giants entered series with a record of 47-41 and were in the thick of the National League playoff race, within two games of a wild card spot.
—Chris Biderman, Sacbee.com, 14 May 2026
Breaker’s Delight is a wild card.
—Corey Merriman, New York Times, 13 May 2026
The characters are like those in a deck of wild cards designed by Salvador Dalí, but somehow the game Ionesco prepares never takes off here.
—Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 13 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for wild card
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Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 16 May 2026
The Giants entered series with a record of 47-41 and were in the thick of the National League playoff race, within two games of a wild card spot.
—Chris Biderman, Sacbee.com, 14 May 2026
Breaker’s Delight is a wild card.
—Corey Merriman, New York Times, 13 May 2026
The characters are like those in a deck of wild cards designed by Salvador Dalí, but somehow the game Ionesco prepares never takes off here.
—Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 13 May 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 21 May. 2026.
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