Wildcat
WordNet
adjective
(1) (of a mine or oil well) drilled speculatively in an area not known to be productive
"Drilling there would be strictly a wildcat operation"
"A wildcat mine"
"Wildcat drilling"
"Wildcat wells"
(2) Without official authorization
"An unauthorized strike"
"Wildcat work stoppage"
(3) Outside the bounds of legitimate or ethical business practices
"Wildcat currency issued by irresponsible banks"
"Wildcat stock speculation"
"A wildcat airline"
"Wildcat life insurance schemes"
noun
(4) Any small or medium-sized cat resembling the domestic cat and living in the wild
(5) An exploratory oil well drilled in land not known to be an oil field
(6) A cruelly rapacious person
WiktionaryText
Noun
- A species of cat, Felis silvestris.
- Any undomesticated species of cat.
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- Upon checking it out, we found a total of 13 newborn wildcats, nine newborn tigers and two newborn leopards. (CNN, 2003.04.24)
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- a person who acts like a wildcat, often sexually
- 2002, The Young and the Restless (TV, September 26)
- Anyone who's man enough to have landed a wildcat like you had to be quite a guy.
- 2002, The Young and the Restless (TV, September 26)
- a caliber of ammunition derived by amending another type of cartridge and not made by commercial manufacturers.
- In the labor movement, anything done outside of the control of bosses or trade unions.
Related terms
Adjective
- relating to oil exploration in an area where no oil has been found before
- unauthorized by the proper authorities
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- Jewish settlers have also been active putting up five new wildcat outposts on hilltops in the West Bank to try to thwart their Prime Minister Ariel Sharon... (CNN, 2003.06.15)
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