a large, carnivorous, tawny-colored and black-striped feline, Panthera tigris, of Asia, ranging in several subspecies from India and the Malay Peninsula to Siberia: the entire species is endangered, with some subspecies thought to be extinct.
the cougar, jaguar, thylacine, or other animal resembling the tiger.
a person resembling a tiger in fierceness, courage, etc.
a country that is considered to have a tiger economy.
Taiwan is one of the four Asian tigers.
an additional cheer (often the wordtiger ) at the end of a round of cheering.
any of several strong, voracious fishes, as a sand shark.
any of numerous animals with stripes similar to a tiger's.
a large feline mammal, Panthera tigris, of forests in most of Asia, having a tawny yellow coat with black stripes
(not in technical use) any of various other animals, such as the jaguar, leopard, and thylacine
a dynamic, forceful, or cruel person
a country, esp in E Asia, that is achieving rapid economic growth
( as modifier )
a tiger economy
archaic a servant in livery, esp a page or groom
short for tiger moth
slang a ten-rand note
informal to find oneself in a situation that has turned out to be much more difficult to control than one had expected
before 1000; Middle English tigre, Old English tīgras (plural) < Latin tīgris, tigris < Greek tígris
You can think of a tiger as your sweet pet cat's distant cousin. Easily recognizable because of its distinctive dark stripes and orange fur, the tiger is the largest of all the cats. Some subspecies of tiger can weigh as much as 600 pounds. Because they are such fierce predators, tigers and humans have often clashed throughout history, resulting in the tiger's current classification as an endangered species. A person who's especially ambitious or fierce might also be called a tiger. The word may share a root with the Old Persian tigra-, "sharp."
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"We caught half a yellowfin tuna once because a tiger shark took the other half," laughed Rob.
From BBC • Jun. 6, 2026
As the smooth highway north of Seville stretched into the vastness of pastoral Extremadura, the chances of finding a lynx, which remains rarer than the snow leopard or the Bengal tiger, felt impossibly small.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 30, 2026
"We do not know currently with certainty what species of shark was involved. Possible candidates are bull or tiger sharks," he said.
From Barron's • May 24, 2026
Its success spawned the creation of the Masters of the Universe franchise, which includes the villain Skeletor, the fighting tiger Battle Cat and He-Man’s sister, She-Ra, another one of Sweet’s designs.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 30, 2026
“Once there was a widow who was bringing food home to her children when she ran into a tiger who said, ‘Give me some of your food and I won’t eat you.’
From "Finding Junie Kim" by Ellen Oh
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
