wild card
noun /ˈwaɪld kɑːd/
/ˈwaɪld kɑːrd/
- (in card games) a card that has no value of its own and takes the value of any card that the player chooses
- (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.
- (computing) a symbol that can represent any letter or number
- An asterisk is commonly used as a wild card.
- a wild-card search
- a person or thing whose behaviour or effect is difficult to predict
- The Nationalist party is the wild card in the election.