maverick

American  

[mav-er-ik, mav-rik] / ˈmæv ər ɪk, ˈmæv rɪk /

noun

• mavericks
  plural

1. Southwestern U.S. an unbranded calf, cow, or steer, especially an unbranded calf that is separated from its mother.

2. 1. 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.

   2. a person pursuing rebellious, even potentially disruptive, policies or ideas.

      You can't muzzle a maverick.

3. 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).

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adjective

1. unorthodox, unconventional, or nonconformist.

   She had a reputation as a maverick fiscal conservative willing to raise taxes.

maverick British  

/ ˈmævərɪk /

noun

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

2. 1. a person of independent or unorthodox views

   2. ( as modifier )

      a maverick politician

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Pop Culture

—Dallas Mavericks: American professional basketball team based in Dallas, Texas, a member of the National Basketball Association (NBA). — Maverick : popular American TV series (1957–62) set in the Wild West that inspired a film of the same name (1994). —Maverick: Nickname and call sign of ace fighter pilot, played by Tom Cruise, in the film Top Gun (1986). —Ford Maverick: Stylish, youthfully designed mid-size car made in the late 1960s and ‘70s in North America and Brazil.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• mavericks
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of maverick

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

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Explanation

A maverick is a rebel, someone who shows a lot of independence. A maverick on a motorcycle might blaze her own trail, traveling around the country and earning money by performing in rodeos. Samuel A. Maverick owned a lot of cattle, and he let them roam around Texas without a brand, or identification mark, seared into their skins. Samuel was a maverick for going against the common practice of tracking his animals, and his last name became part of the English language as both an adjective and a noun in the 19th century. Someone who acts very independently is a maverick, and individual actions that stand out are maverick, as in "her maverick jumping style on the ice was both wild and delicate."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

maverick mavericks

Brook also has one clear advantage in any debate for the maverick position in a fantasy England XI.

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026

Although Mr. Amodei has long been an industry maverick on AI safety, Sam Altman of OpenAI and Elon Musk of SpaceX quickly agreed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

But if the new player council takes hold, the shadow maverick may have helped force the sport’s gatekeepers to pull up a seat at the table, then made his own seat unnecessary.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

By the mid-1990s, Niederhoffer, who died Aug. 4 at the age of 82, was a well-known Wall Street maverick, a hedge-fund manager whose bets were as bold, risky and nontraditional as his lifestyle and clothes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

It was all about how the U.S. ought to take better charge of the maverick Congo; the two photographs stopped my heart.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver

Both were mavericks, and Graham 1.0 had an independent streak.

From Salon ● Jul. 13, 2026

He paved the way for a second and third generation of L.A. theatrical mavericks, notably Peter Sellars and Yuval Sharon, who newly and profoundly alter perception.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 11, 2026

LIV was a company full of bold thinkers and innovators and mavericks who weren’t afraid to leave predictable jobs to move to this opportunity.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025

Genge, who plays alongside Fiji stars Kalaveti Ravouvou and Viliame Mata at English club Bristol, added: "They are a team full of absolute mavericks and they have got lightning bolts everywhere."

From Barron's ● Nov. 8, 2025

To the south of the feeding bunch of mavericks he had deployed his cow-punchers under his own leadership.

From The Boy Scouts On The Range by Lieut. Howard Payson

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