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.
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RELATED WORDS
Nearby words
- londrina,
- lone,
- lone hand,
- lone pair,
- lone star state,
- loneliness,
- lonely,
- lonely hearts,
- lonely-hearts,
- loner
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
Examples from the Web for lone wolf
lone wolf
noun
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
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]
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.