mav ‧ e ‧ rick /ˈmæv ə rɪk/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Date: 1800-1900 ; Origin: Samuel A. Maverick (1803-70), U.S. cattle owner who did not mark some of his young cattle ]
an unusual person who has different ideas and ways of behaving from other people, and is often very successful:
He’s always been a bit of a maverick.
—maverick adjective [only before noun] :
a maverick detective