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Definition of wolf noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

wolf

noun
 
/wʊlf/
 
/wʊlf/
(plural wolves
 
/wʊlvz/
 
/wʊlvz/
)
Idioms
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  1. a large wild animal of the dog family, that lives and hunts in groups
    • She compared the media to a pack of ravening/ravenous wolves.
    Extra Examples
    • A lone wolf howled under the full moon.
    • Labour groups are often seen as the big bad wolf.
    • She called the media ‘ravening wolves’.
    • a story of a young boy raised by wolves
    Topics Animalsb1
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • lone
    • wild
    • hungry
    … of wolves
    • pack
    wolf + verb
    • growl
    • howl
    • hunt
    wolf + noun
    • cub
    • pack
    See full entry
    Word OriginOld English wulf, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch wolf and German Wolf, from an Indo-European root shared by Latin lupus and Greek lukos. The verb dates from the mid 19th cent.
Idioms
cry wolf
  1. to call for help when you do not need it, with the result that when you do need it people do not believe you
keep the wolf from the door
  1. (informal) to have enough money to avoid going hungry; to stop somebody feeling hungry
a lone wolf
  1. a person who prefers to be alone
throw somebody to the wolves
  1. to leave somebody to be roughly treated or criticized without trying to help or defend them
a wolf in sheep’s clothing
  1. a person who seems to be friendly or not likely to cause any harm but is really an enemy
See wolf in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
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adjective
 
 
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