maverick

[ mav-er-ik, mav-rik ]
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noun
  1. Southwestern U.S. an unbranded calf, cow, or steer, especially an unbranded calf that is separated from its mother.

    • a lone dissenter, such as an intellectual, an artist, or a politician, who takes an independent stand apart from their peers: His unusual techniques made him a maverick of modern dance.

    • a person pursuing rebellious, even potentially disruptive, policies or ideas: You can't muzzle a maverick.

  1. Maverick, an electro-optically guided U.S. air-to-ground tactical missile for destroying tanks and other hardened targets at ranges up to 15 miles (24 km).

adjective
  1. unorthodox, unconventional, or nonconformist: She had a reputation as a maverick fiscal conservative willing to raise taxes.

Origin of maverick

1
An Americanism dating back to 1865–70; named after Samuel A. Maverick (1803–70), Texas pioneer who left his calves unbranded

word story For maverick

The term maverick surged in popularity, propelled by the presidential bid in the late 2000s of U.S. Senator John McCain, then considered a “political maverick” of the Republican Party. Given the word's Wild West roots, maverick has always had an edgy, rebellious connotation: it originally referred to unbranded cattle that strayed from the herd, putting their ownership in doubt. It was then a short step in going from this original meaning to applying the word to a person who strayed from and did not follow the thinking of a group they belonged to, or who rebelled against accepted ideas or a herd mentality. Maverick thus came to generally mean an individualistic and independent thinker. In popular culture, as exemplified in the movies Maverick (1994) and Top Gun (1986), the term often describes colorful gamblers and risk takers. Depending on context, then, maverick can be applied to a pioneer who bucks current trends, or to a wild and potentially reckless loose cannon.

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Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

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British Dictionary definitions for maverick

maverick

/ (ˈmævərɪk) /


noun
  1. (in US and Canadian cattle-raising regions) an unbranded animal, esp a stray calf

    • a person of independent or unorthodox views

    • (as modifier): a maverick politician

Origin of maverick

1
C19: after Samuel A. Maverick (1803–70), Texas rancher, who did not brand his cattle

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