# wildcat

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈwaɪldˌkæt/ · frequency rank #27,030

## Definitions
1. A cat that lives in the wilderness, specifically:
2. A cat that lives in the wilderness, specifically:
3. A cat that lives in the wilderness, specifically:
4. A cat that lives in the wilderness, specifically:
5. A person who acts like a wildcat, (usually) a violent and easily-angered person or a sexually vigorous one.
6. An offensive formation with an unbalanced line and a snap directly to the running back rather than the quarterback.
7. A wheel that can be adjusted so as to revolve either with or on the shaft of a capstan.
8. Clipping of wildcat cartridge.
9. Clipping of wildcat strike (“a strike undertaken without authorization from the relevant trade union”).
10. Clipping of wildcat money (“notes issued by a wildcat bank”).

## Etymology
From Middle English wyld cat, wylde cat (in the plural as wild cattes, wylde catis, wyle cattes), equivalent to wild + cat. Cognate with Middle Low German wiltkatte, German Wildkatze, Swedish vildkatt.
Its adjectival senses were originally American and derived from the "wildcat banks" of Michigan, following its elevation to statehood in 1837. Two laws—one easing the requirements for establishing a new bank and another occasioned by the Panic of 1837 that removed the need for payment in specie—led to the creation and collapse of around 50 banks within two years. The term is apocryphally derived from a wildcat supposedly featured on the currency printed by one of these banks, but more probably derived from the remote locations "where the wildcats roamed" chosen by these banks to avoid oversight and minimize redemption of notes.

## Easily confused with
- **wildest** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wildcat-vs-wildest)
- **wildcard** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wildcard-vs-wildcat)

## Common misspellings (11)
`iwldcat`, `widlcat`, `wilcdat`, `wildact`, `wildcatt`, `wildccat`, `wildcta`, `wilddcat`, `willdcat`, `wlidcat`, `wwildcat`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/wildcat