wolf

¹ American  

[woolf] / wʊlf /

noun

plural

wolves

1. 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.

2. the fur of any of several large carnivorous mammals of the genus Canis, especially C. lupus.

3. any of various animals of different families that are similar to C. lupus, such as the thylacine.

4. Astronomy. Wolf, the constellation Lupus.

5. the larva of any of various small insects infesting granaries.

6. a cruelly rapacious person.

7. Informal. a man who makes amorous advances to many women.

8. Music.

   1. the harsh discord heard in certain chords of keyboard instruments, especially the organ, when tuned on some system of unequal temperament.

   2. a chord or interval in which harsh discord appears when tuned on some system of unequal temperament.

   3. (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)

1. to devour voraciously (often followed bydown ).

   He wolfed his food.

verb (used without object)

1. to hunt for wolves.

idioms

1. wolf in sheep's clothing, a person who conceals evil intentions or character beneath an innocent exterior.

2. keep the wolf from the door, to avert poverty or starvation; provide sufficiently for.

   Their small inheritance kept the wolf from the door.

3. throw (someone or something) to the wolves / dogs, 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.

4. cry wolf, to give a false alarm.

   Is she really sick or is she just crying wolf ?

Wolf ² American  

[vawlf] / vɔlf /

noun

1. Baron Christian von. Christian von Wolff.

2. Friedrich August 1759–1824, German classical scholar.

3. Hugo 1860–1903, Austrian composer.

4. a male given name.

---

wolf ¹ British  

/ wʊlf /

noun

1. a predatory canine mammal, Canis lupus, which hunts in packs and was formerly widespread in North America and Eurasia but is now less common See also timber wolf

2. any of several similar and related canines, such as the red wolf and the coyote ( prairie wolf )

3. the fur of any such animal

4. another name for the thylacine

5. a voracious, grabbing, or fiercely cruel person or thing

6. informal a man who habitually tries to seduce women

7. informal the destructive larva of any of various moths and beetles

8. Also called: wolf note.  music

   1. an unpleasant sound produced in some notes played on the violin, cello, etc, owing to resonant vibrations of the belly

   2. an out-of-tune effect produced on keyboard instruments accommodated esp to the system of mean-tone temperament See temperament

9. to give a false alarm

10. to ward off starvation or privation

11. a person or animal who prefers to be alone

12. to abandon or deliver to destruction

13. a malicious person in a harmless or benevolent disguise

---

verb

1. to gulp (down)

2. (intr) to hunt wolves

Wolf ² British  

/ vɔlf /

noun

1. Friedrich August (ˈfriːdrɪç ˈauɡʊst). 1759–1824, German classical scholar, who suggested that the Homeric poems, esp the Iliad, are products of an oral tradition

2. Hugo (ˈhuːɡo). 1860–1903, Austrian composer, esp of songs, including the Italienisches Liederbuch and the Spanisches Liederbuch

3. Howlin'. See Howlin' Wolf

---

wolf More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing wolf

• cry wolf
• keep the wolf from the door
• lone wolf

---

Other Word Forms

• wolfish adjective
• wolflike adjective

Etymology

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

Example Sentences

Islamic leaders have a pastoral responsibility to protect their adherents from corruption and radicalization, to keep the wolves from the flock.

From The Wall Street Journal

Mrs Justice Smyth said: "I accept they were not acting as lone wolves, although neither was charged with membership of an organisation."

From BBC

Zookeepers in the South West have been celebrating the birth of two rare wolf pups.

From BBC

Blame Jack London: Buck ran with the wolves, White Fang was only half dog, and both were romantic literary heroes—something less impressive if you happen to be a sheep rancher.

From The Wall Street Journal

Ditto for Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s encounter with wolves in the garden of his villa in Vermont, or Ruhollah Khomeini’s fatwa on Salman Rushdie.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• devour
• gobble
• gulp