lone wolf
[lohn woo lf]
- 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.
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Origin of lone wolf
An Americanism dating back to 1905–10
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for lone wolf
Contemporary Examples
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
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
- a person who prefers to be alone
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Idioms and Phrases with lone wolf
lone wolf
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]
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.