Illustration of tiger
- tiger 1a
plural tigers
1
plural also tiger
a
: a large Asian carnivorous mammal (Panthera tigris) of the cat family having a usually tawny coat transversely striped with black
b
: any of several large wildcats (such as the jaguar or cougar)
c
: a domestic cat with striped pattern
d
Australia
: tasmanian tiger
2
a
: a fierce, daring, or aggressive person or quality
aroused the tiger in him
a tiger for work
b
: someone or something (such as a situation) that is formidable or impossible to control
how the tiger of inflation can be tamed—
J. A. Davenport
—often used in the phrases ride a tiger and have a tiger by the tail
J. A. Davenport3
British
: a groom in livery
tigerishly
adverb
tigerishness
noun
Examples of tiger in a Sentence
He was a tiger on the basketball court.
even the best defense can't keep that tiger from scoring
Recent Examples on the Web
This episode of Watch Party is brought to you by sweat, gold and tiger blood.
—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 12 Sep. 2025
The Sumatran tiger stands in the box in her night house area.
—Rachael O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Sep. 2025
The phrase about tiger blood and never losing stuck with him during the interview, and the unhinged moment went viral.
—Gillian Telling, PEOPLE, 9 Sep. 2025
Especially if the tiger and the magpie have a name among the crew like Derpy and Sussie.
—Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 5 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tiger
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Brian Truitt, USA Today, 12 Sep. 2025
The Sumatran tiger stands in the box in her night house area.
—Rachael O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Sep. 2025
The phrase about tiger blood and never losing stuck with him during the interview, and the unhinged moment went viral.
—Gillian Telling, PEOPLE, 9 Sep. 2025
Especially if the tiger and the magpie have a name among the crew like Derpy and Sussie.
—Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 5 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tiger
Cite this Entry
“Tiger.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tiger. Accessed 13 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
tiger
noun
ti·ger
ˈtī-gər 
plural tigers also tiger
1
: a large Asian flesh-eating mammal of the same family as the domestic cat with a coat that is typically light brown to orange with mostly vertical black stripes
2
: any of several large wildcats (as the jaguar or cougar)
3
: a domestic cat with a striped coat
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