lone wolf

American  

[lohn woolf] / ˈloʊn ˈwʊlf /

noun

1. a person who prefers to live, act, or work alone or independent of others.

2. a criminal who acts alone (often used attributively).

   lone-wolf terrorists.

---

lone wolf British  

noun

1. a person who prefers to be alone

---

lone wolf Idioms  

1. A person who prefers to do without the company or assistance of others. For example, Her nursery school teacher described Beth as a lone wolf, an assessment her parents found astonishing. This expression alludes to the tendency of some species of wolf to hunt alone rather than in packs. [c. 1900]

---

Etymology

Origin of lone wolf

An Americanism dating back to 1905–10

Example Sentences

Trump later told reporters that a gunman he described as a "lone wolf" and a "whack job" had charged through security screening just outside the ballroom.

From Barron's • Apr. 26, 2026

Woods was seen as a lone wolf in his pomp.

From BBC • Sep. 26, 2025

"I spent much of my life as a lone wolf," she tells BBC News, "so hyper-independent that it became a defining trait."

From BBC • Apr. 27, 2025

He’d been a cut-up since he was a kid, and this seemed like a better fit for his lone wolf personality.

From Los Angeles Times • May 24, 2023

"When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies, but the pack survives," he said.

From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin