tiger
Americannoun
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tigers,
plural
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tiger
plural
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a large, carnivorous, tawny-colored and black-striped feline, Panthera tigris, of Asia, ranging in several subspecies from India and the Malay Peninsula to Siberia: the entire species is endangered, with some subspecies thought to be extinct.
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the cougar, jaguar, thylacine, or other animal resembling the tiger.
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a person resembling a tiger in fierceness, courage, etc.
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a country that is considered to have a tiger economy.
Taiwan is one of the four Asian tigers.
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an additional cheer (often the wordtiger ) at the end of a round of cheering.
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any of several strong, voracious fishes, as a sand shark.
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any of numerous animals with stripes similar to a tiger's.
adjective
noun
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a large feline mammal, Panthera tigris, of forests in most of Asia, having a tawny yellow coat with black stripes
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(not in technical use) any of various other animals, such as the jaguar, leopard, and thylacine
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a dynamic, forceful, or cruel person
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a country, esp in E Asia, that is achieving rapid economic growth
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( as modifier )
a tiger economy
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archaic a servant in livery, esp a page or groom
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short for tiger moth
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slang a ten-rand note
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informal to find oneself in a situation that has turned out to be much more difficult to control than one had expected
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of tiger
before 1000; Middle English tigre, Old English tīgras (plural) < Latin tīgris, tigris < Greek tígris
Explanation
You can think of a tiger as your sweet pet cat's distant cousin. Easily recognizable because of its distinctive dark stripes and orange fur, the tiger is the largest of all the cats. Some subspecies of tiger can weigh as much as 600 pounds. Because they are such fierce predators, tigers and humans have often clashed throughout history, resulting in the tiger's current classification as an endangered species. A person who's especially ambitious or fierce might also be called a tiger. The word may share a root with the Old Persian tigra-, "sharp."
Vocabulary lists containing tiger
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
They suggest that A. syrax could become a flagship species for conservation in the region, joining other rare animals found there, including the Asian forest tortoise, Oldham's leaf turtle and the Indochinese tiger.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 24, 2026
The backyard includes tiger fig trees, apple trees, and other edible plantings surrounding a swimming pool designed for year-round Southern California living.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
During the campaign, he leaned heavily into his self-proclaimed nickname "The Tiger," sharing AI-generated images of himself as a fanged tiger and the only candidate willing to wage war on crime and insurgency.
From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026
Umit, a female Amur tiger, has been released to Kazakhstan's Ile-Balkhash Nature Reserve as part of a programme to restore the animal's population, which was wiped out in central Asia a century ago.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
“Actually I did see a tiger, but that’s not my news,” Viju said.
From "Tiger Boy" by Mitali Perkins
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Researcher Tiger Shankman has hailed its “perky, anachronistic beauty.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
Tiger cat species are considered vulnerable to extinction because of deforestation, habitat loss and illegal hunting, although the new species is missing from previous assessments.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
Tiger Woods says he "can hit pretty much anything" after returning to the range for the first time since a car crash six months ago.
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026
Initially led by legendary Australian golfer Greg Norman, the league attracted the likes of six-time major winner Phil Mickelson, and those who joined faced blowback from the golf establishment, including Tiger Woods.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
I really wanna be a Tiger or a Dragon, but my birth year makes me a Horse.
From "Free Lunch" by Rex Ogle
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BFA-related compounds in urine and renal lipid droplets were detected in several felid species, including lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars, lynxes, and the Iriomote cat.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026
Whether lions, tigers, and other wild felids actually use these compounds to recognize specific individuals has not yet been demonstrated.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026
Both wild and domestic cats belong to the biological family Felidae, which includes every living cat species from tiny house pets to massive tigers.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
The name blunder earlier this week was part of the Cheshire zoo's ticket promotion to allow visitors to go on a tour showcasing its Sumatran tigers, lions, rhinos and Komodo dragons.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
“But the tigers are hungrier now,” said Ajay.
From "Tiger Boy" by Mitali Perkins
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.