wildcat
A cat that lives in the wilderness, specificallyA cat that lives in the wilderness, specifically: Felis silvestris, a common small Old World wild cat somewhat larger than a house cat.
» Algeria's wildcat wild populations need to recover.
Meaning
6 sensesA cat that lives in the wilderness, specifically:
(UK)Felis silvestris, a common small Old World wild cat somewhat larger than a house cat.
Wildkatze
лесна́я ко́шкаlesnája kóška, лесно́й котlesnój kot, ди́кая ко́шкаdíkaja kóška
any small or medium-sized cat resembling the domestic cat and living in the wild
(US)A bobcat (Lynx rufus) or other similar New World species of lynx.
Any feral cat.
(figuratively)A person who acts like a wildcat, (usually) a violent and easily-angered person or a sexually vigorous one.
2002 September 26, The Young and the Restless Anyone who's man enough to have landed a wildcat like you had to be quite a guy.
An offensive formation with an unbalanced line and a snap directly to the running back rather than the quarterback.
A wheel that can be adjusted so as to revolve either with or on the shaft of a capstan.
Examples
12 sentencesAlgeria's wildcat wild populations need to recover.
Tom organized a wildcat strike.
Wildcats are always hunting.
Have you ever seen a wildcat in Algeria?
I have never seen a wildcat in Algeria.
Translations
8 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 1
Origin
From Middle English wyld cat, wylde cat (in the plural as wild cattes, wylde catis, wyle cFrom Middle English wyld cat, wylde cat (in the plural as wild cattes, wylde catis, wyle cattes), equivalent to wild + cat. Cognate with Middle Low German wiltkatte, German Wildkatze, Swedish vildkatt.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
plural: wildcatsSynonyms
8 synonyms- an exploratory oil well drilled in land not known to be an oil field:wildcat well
- a cruelly rapacious person:beastwolfsavagebrute