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Definition of wild card noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

wild card

noun
 
/ˈwaɪld kɑːd/
 
/ˈwaɪld kɑːrd/
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  1. (in card games) a card that has no value of its own and takes the value of any card that the player chooses
  2. (sport) an opportunity for somebody to play in a competition when they have not qualified in the usual way; a player who enters a competition in this way
    • He was given a wild card for the tournament.
    • She was beaten in the semi-finals by wild card Louise Smith.
  3. (computing) a symbol that can represent any letter or number
    • An asterisk is commonly used as a wild card.
    • a wild-card search
  4. a person or thing whose behaviour or effect is difficult to predict
    • The Nationalist party is the wild card in the election.
See wild card in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
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noun
 
 
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