lone wolf
[lohn woo lf]
noun
a person who prefers to live, act, or work alone or independent of others.
a criminal who acts alone (often used attributively): lone-wolf terrorists.
Origin of lone wolf
An Americanism dating back to 1905–10
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Related Words for lone wolf
hermit, independent, individualist, loner, nonconformist, outsider, pariah, solitary, separatistExamples from the Web for lone wolf
Contemporary Examples of lone wolf
And his lone-wolf status may never be more apparent than at the bottom of his legal notice to Ferguson Mayor James Knowles.
Historical Examples of lone wolf
I never was much on this lone-wolf dodgin', though I've done it of necessity.
The Lone Star RangerZane Grey
The lone-wolf motive sang seductively in his seventeen-year-old ears.
Rough-HewnDorothy Canfield
But did one hear the lone-wolf howl as our fellows went filing down the gang-planks?
The Glory of The ComingIrvin S. Cobb
It is a pity the untamable, lone-wolf souls should always become pariahs, almost of choice: mere scamps.
Sea and SardiniaD. H. Lawrence
He was succeeded by Gi-pgo, "Lone-wolf," adopted father of the present chief of the same name.
lone wolf
noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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lone wolf
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.