: a symbol (such as ? or *) used in a keyword database search to represent the presence of zero, one, or more than one unspecified characters
Example Sentences
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 WebThe 2022 season is a wild card for the Patriots, though, with McDaniels gone. Ben Volin, BostonGlobe.com, 5 Sep. 2022 And Russia remains a wild card, keen to flex its energy exports for geopolitical gains. Tim Mcdonnell, Quartz, 5 Aug. 2022 Walsh believes former President Donald Trump could be the wild card in the race. Bryan Schott, The Salt Lake Tribune, 19 July 2022 And a looming recession remains a wild card, Kelley acknowledges.San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 July 2022 Eason is a wild card in this process given that most mock drafts project him to be taken long after the Blazers select at No. 7 during the June 23 NBA draft.oregonlive, 10 June 2022 The emergence of yet another succession of new Omicron subvariants may prove to be a new wild card in the pandemic.Los Angeles Times, 8 June 2022 Which would be no problem for Adames, with health being the wild card, of course. Todd Rosiak, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 8 May 2022 This shift will likely continue, although there is a wild card: The EU ban clears the way for Washington to extend its Russian oil embargo, akin to sanctions on Iran. Rochelle Toplensky, WSJ, 4 May 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
wild card, playing card with arbitrarily determined value