any of several large carnivorous mammals of the genus Canis, of the dog family Canidae, especially C. lupus, usually hunting in packs, formerly common throughout the Northern Hemisphere but now chiefly restricted to the more unpopulated parts of its range.
the fur of such an animal.
any of various wolflike animals of different families, as the thylacine.
(initial capital letter)Astronomy. the constellation Lupus.
the larva of any of various small insects infesting granaries.
a cruelly rapacious person.
Informal. a man who makes amorous advances to many women.
Music.
the harsh discord heard in certain chords of keyboard instruments, especially the organ, when tuned on some system of unequal temperament.
a chord or interval in which such a discord appears.
(in bowed instruments) a discordant or false vibration in a string due to a defect in structure or adjustment of the instrument.
verb (used with object)
to devour voraciously (often followed by down): He wolfed his food.
verb (used without object)
to hunt for wolves.
Idioms for wolf
cry wolf, to give a false alarm: Is she really sick or is she just crying wolf?
keep the wolf from the door, to avert poverty or starvation; provide sufficiently for: Their small inheritance kept the wolf from the door.
throw (someone or something) to the wolves / dogs, Informal. to place or leave in a bad situation with no assistance, especially in order to protect oneself: The coach threw his rookie players to the wolves following their embarrassing loss.
wolf in sheep's clothing, a person who conceals his or her evil intentions or character beneath an innocent exterior.
Origin of wolf
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English wulf; cognate with German Wolf, Old Norse ulfr, Gothic wulfs, all from Germanic wulfaz; akin to Polish wilk, Czech vlk, Lithuanian vil̃kas, Sanskrit vṛka-, and Latin lupus, Greek lýkos
OTHER WORDS FROM wolf
wolflike,adjective
Words nearby wolf
Wokingham, wokka board, Wolcott, wold, Wolds, wolf, wolfberry, wolf call, wolf-child, wolf cub, wolf dog
Wolf apparently looked to bar Murphy from future meetings on the subject, and the notification was completed without Murphy’s input.
What to make of the DHS whistleblower’s shocking complaint|Alex Ward|September 11, 2020|Vox
After Murphy sent the HTA around to top officials like Wolf and Cuccinelli, he was told shortly afterward that “further distribution of the HTA was prohibited” because of concerns those two men had.
What to make of the DHS whistleblower’s shocking complaint|Alex Ward|September 11, 2020|Vox
Cooling to near-death temperatures lets the hummingbirds save precious energy, allowing them to survive the cold night and gear up to feed the next day, Wolf says.
This hummingbird survives cold nights by nearly freezing itself solid|Jonathan Lambert|September 8, 2020|Science News
Torpor had been observed before in hummingbirds, but Wolf and his colleagues wanted a more detailed picture.
This hummingbird survives cold nights by nearly freezing itself solid|Jonathan Lambert|September 8, 2020|Science News
Competitive eaters scarf food at a rate that bests that of grizzly bears and coyotes, Smoliga finds, although wolves lead the pack.
When it comes to downing hot dogs, science says there’s a limit|Jonathan Lambert|August 7, 2020|Science News For Students
It reminded me a bit of an alternative take on The Wolf of Wall Street—through the Toni and Candace lens.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness|Marlow Stern|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The Wolf of Wall Street is a dangerous, incendiary work of art.
Coffee Talk with Ethan Hawke: On ‘Boyhood,’ Jennifer Lawrence, and Bill Clinton’s Urinal Exchange|Marlow Stern|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Wolf concurs that the conceit of the show seems to have everyone but the sex worker in mind.
To Catch a Sex Worker: A&E’s Awful, Exploitative Ambush Show|Samantha Allen|December 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“Usually being a police officer does not give you great insight into the lives of sex workers,” Wolf says.
To Catch a Sex Worker: A&E’s Awful, Exploitative Ambush Show|Samantha Allen|December 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And, as any good public defender would, Wolf says the allegations are absurd.
The Strange Case of the Christian Zionist Terrorist|Creede Newton|December 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The boys had become so interested in bringing down the wolf that they had paid no attention to what was taking place overhead.
The Rover Boys at Big Horn Ranch|Edward Stratemeyer
The wolf was a tenacious fellow, and he struggled desperately to rise.
The Camp in the Snow|William Murray Graydon
And the vitals of a wolf could no more strongly have felt the instinct to rend.
The Mysterious Rider|Zane Grey
The young man was still less disposed to be vexed with Wolf for his delay when Barbara appeared in Ursel's room.
Barbara Blomberg, Complete|Georg Ebers
But now had Face-of-god no need to ask what these meant, since he knew that they were the names of the kindreds of the Wolf.
The Roots of the Mountains|William Morris
British Dictionary definitions for wolf (1 of 2)
wolf
/ (wʊlf) /
nounpluralwolves (wʊlvz)
a predatory canine mammal, Canis lupus, which hunts in packs and was formerly widespread in North America and Eurasia but is now less commonSee also timber wolf Related adjective: lupine
any of several similar and related canines, such as the red wolf and the coyote (prairie wolf)
the fur of any such animal
Tasmanian wolf another name for the thylacine
a voracious, grabbing, or fiercely cruel person or thing
informala man who habitually tries to seduce women
informalthe destructive larva of any of various moths and beetles
Also called: wolf notemusic
an unpleasant sound produced in some notes played on the violin, cello, etc, owing to resonant vibrations of the belly
an out-of-tune effect produced on keyboard instruments accommodated esp to the system of mean-tone temperamentSee temperament (def. 4)
cry wolfto give a false alarm
keep the wolf from the doorto ward off starvation or privation
lone wolfa person or animal who prefers to be alone
throw to the wolvesto abandon or deliver to destruction
wolf in sheep's clothinga malicious person in a harmless or benevolent disguise
verb
(tr often foll by down) to gulp (down)
(intr)to hunt wolves
Derived forms of wolf
wolfish, adjectivewolflike, adjective
Word Origin for wolf
Old English wulf; related to Old High German wolf, Old Norse ulfr, Gothic wulfs, Latin lupus and vulpēs fox
British Dictionary definitions for wolf (2 of 2)
Wolf
/ (Germanvɔlf) /
noun
Friedrich August (ˈfriːdrɪç ˈauɡʊst). 1759–1824, German classical scholar, who suggested that the Homeric poems, esp the Iliad, are products of an oral tradition
Hugo (ˈhuːɡo). 1860–1903, Austrian composer, esp of songs, including the Italienisches Liederbuch and the Spanisches Liederbuch