Definition of "wildcard" in English

noun

1. (computing) A character that takes the place of any other character or string that is not known or specified.

   • 1968, Digital Equipment Corporation, VAX/VMS 319(5864), page 751, Section 2.1.2 Using Wildcard Characters A wildcard character is a symbol that you can use with many DCL commands to apply the command to several files at once, rather than specifying each file individually.
   • If the character * is acting as a wildcard, then the pattern a*m matches each of the words amalgam, atom and alum.

2. (also written wild card) An uncontrolled or unpredictable element.

3. (also written wild card) An element, often deliberately concealed, which is withheld for contingency.

4. (sports, card games) Alternative form of wild card.

5. (phonetics, phonology) A letter or symbol that substitutes for a generic or poorly identified sound, for example capital C for any or some consonant, or capital V for any or some vowel.

verb

1. (computing) To replace or supplement with a wildcard character to allow matching against a range of possible values.