tiger
Americannoun
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tigers,
plural
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tiger
plural
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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.
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the cougar, jaguar, thylacine, or other animal resembling the tiger.
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a person resembling a tiger in fierceness, courage, etc.
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a country that is considered to have a tiger economy.
Taiwan is one of the four Asian tigers.
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an additional cheer (often the wordtiger ) at the end of a round of cheering.
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any of several strong, voracious fishes, as a sand shark.
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any of numerous animals with stripes similar to a tiger's.
adjective
noun
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a large feline mammal, Panthera tigris, of forests in most of Asia, having a tawny yellow coat with black stripes
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(not in technical use) any of various other animals, such as the jaguar, leopard, and thylacine
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a dynamic, forceful, or cruel person
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a country, esp in E Asia, that is achieving rapid economic growth
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( as modifier )
a tiger economy
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archaic a servant in livery, esp a page or groom
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short for tiger moth
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slang a ten-rand note
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informal to find oneself in a situation that has turned out to be much more difficult to control than one had expected
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of tiger
before 1000; Middle English tigre, Old English tīgras (plural) < Latin tīgris, tigris < Greek tígris
Explanation
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."
Vocabulary lists containing tiger
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Earlier this week, the president shared footage featuring the last moments of a man who was killed by a tiger in a U.K. zoo.
From Salon ● Oct. 16, 2026
Medical records belonging to a man killed by a tiger at Yorkshire Wildlife Park may have been accessed "without a legitimate reason" by staff at Yorkshire Ambulance Service, a spokesperson has said.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
He followed that up with an AI-generated video that struck a celebratory tone, showing Trump chasing away a tiger while remaining unharmed.
From Salon ● Oct. 16, 2026
About the size of a large tiger and armed with enormous curved claws, the animal roamed what is now Britain approximately 120 million years ago.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026
She was carrying the extra flashlight and two tiger masks.
From "Tiger Boy" by Mitali Perkins
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A spokesperson said its "Land of the Tiger" area, where Saturday's incident took place in front of staff and members of the public, would also reopen.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
His late ’90s breakthrough in the triple-hitter lineup of “Halloween: H20,” “The Faculty” and “The Virgin Suicides” catapulted him to international fame practically overnight, cementing his place alongside the era’s Tiger Beat celebrity infatuations.
From Salon ● Oct. 9, 2026
Researcher Tiger Shankman has hailed its “perky, anachronistic beauty.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
In years that followed Nike partnered with generational talents Tiger Woods, Serena Williams and Cristiano Ronaldo, who all donned the Swoosh on their way to golf, tennis and football greatness.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
Stories of their kappiness spread like seeds in the wind, sprouting and blooming everywkere, until finally even young Magistrate Tiger keard of tkem.
From "Where the Mountain Meets the Moon" by Grace Lin
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From the walkway, visitors can view the park's Amur tigers in their enclosure which includes woodland, grassland and a waterfall pool.
From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026
Photos of the enclosure on the park's website shows a high walkway for visitors and fencing above the section where the tigers can roam.
From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026
Whether lions, tigers, and other wild felids actually use these compounds to recognize specific individuals has not yet been demonstrated.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026
BFA-related compounds in urine and renal lipid droplets were detected in several felid species, including lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars, lynxes, and the Iriomote cat.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026
Some years the tigers elect a triarch, and some years they do not, but never more than one, so the elephants have ruled the city for three hundred years.”
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
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