Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Games A playing card whose value can vary as determined by its holder.
  • noun Sports An athlete or team selected to compete in a tournament or playoff from among those who did not qualify by meeting the regular requirements.
  • noun Computers A symbol that stands for one or more unspecified characters, used especially in searching text and in selecting multiple files or directories.
  • noun Slang An unpredictable or unforeseeable factor.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun computing A character that takes the place of any other character or string that is not known or specified.
  • noun An uncontrolled or unpredictable element.
  • noun An element, often deliberately concealed, which is withheld for contingency.
  • noun sports Alternative form of wild card.

Etymologies

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