I. ˈ ̷ ̷ˌ ̷ ̷ noun
( -s ; see sense 1b )
Etymology: Middle English wilde cat, from wilde wild + cat
1.
a. : either of two cats that somewhat resemble the domestic tabby cat in color and pattern but are usually somewhat heavier in build and that are usually held to be among the ancestors of the domestic cat:
(1) : european wildcat
(2) : kaffir cat
b. or plural wildcat : any of various small or medium-sized cats (as the jungle cat, the lynx, or the ocelot)
c. : a feral domestic cat
2. : a savage quick-tempered hard-fighting person
3.
a. : wildcat currency
b. : a wildcat oil or gas well
c. : a wildcat strike
4. : a drum or wheel on a windlass having in its circumference a deep groove with projections that engage the links of a chain cable as it passes and thus regulate the speed of the cable : cable wheel — called also cable holder
II. adjective
1.
a.
(1) : financially irresponsible or unreliable
wildcat banks
worthless stock in a wildcat mine
(2) : issued by a financially irresponsible banking establishment
wildcat currency
b. : operating or being produced or carried on outside the bounds of standard, recognized, or legitimate business practices
wildcat breweries
wildcat stock speculation
wildcat promoters
a wildcat airline
c. : of, relating to, concerned with, or being an oil or gas well drilled in territory not known to be productive
there may be oil but drilling for it would be strictly a wildcat operation — Newsweek
wildcat wells
wildcat drilling
d. : initiated by a group of workers without formal union approval or in violation of a contract
wildcat strike
wildcat work stoppage
2.
a. of a cartridge : having a bullet of a standard commercial caliber but using an expanded case or a case designed for a bullet of a greater caliber but necked down for the smaller bullet
b. of a rifle : using wildcat cartridges
III. intransitive verb
( wildcatted ; wildcatted ; wildcatting ; wildcats )
1. : to prospect and drill an experimental oil or gas well or sometimes a mine shaft in territory not known to be productive
2. : to engage in wildcat speculations, operations, or enterprises
3. : to run a railroad locomotive and tender