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  • tiger
    tiger
    noun
    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.
  • Tiger
    Tiger
    noun
    See TIGR
Synonyms

tiger

American  
[tahy-ger] / ˈtaɪ gər /

noun

  • tigers,
    plural
  • tiger
    plural
  1. 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.

  2. the cougar, jaguar, thylacine, or other animal resembling the tiger.

  3. a person resembling a tiger in fierceness, courage, etc.

  4. a country that is considered to have a tiger economy.

    Taiwan is one of the four Asian tigers.

  5. an additional cheer (often the wordtiger ) at the end of a round of cheering.

  6. any of several strong, voracious fishes, as a sand shark.

  7. any of numerous animals with stripes similar to a tiger's.


adjective

  1. noting or relating to a strict parenting style that demands academic excellence and obedience from children, associated especially with East Asians.

    a tiger mom; tiger parenting.

tiger 1 British  
/ ˈtaɪɡə /

noun

  1. a large feline mammal, Panthera tigris, of forests in most of Asia, having a tawny yellow coat with black stripes

  2. (not in technical use) any of various other animals, such as the jaguar, leopard, and thylacine

  3. a dynamic, forceful, or cruel person

    1. a country, esp in E Asia, that is achieving rapid economic growth

    2. ( as modifier )

      a tiger economy

  4. archaic a servant in livery, esp a page or groom

  5. short for tiger moth

  6. slang a ten-rand note

  7. informal to find oneself in a situation that has turned out to be much more difficult to control than one had expected

"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

Tiger 2 British  
/ ˈtaɪɡə /

noun

  1. See TIGR

"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

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."

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Vocabulary lists containing tiger

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:

Yorkshire Wildlife Park has reopened for the first time since a man was killed by a tiger in an enclosure.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

Earlier this week, the president shared footage featuring the last moments of a man who was killed by a tiger in a U.K. zoo.

From Salon ● Oct. 16, 2026

He followed that up with an AI-generated video that struck a celebratory tone, showing Trump chasing away a tiger while remaining unharmed.

From Salon ● Oct. 16, 2026

About the size of a large tiger and armed with enormous curved claws, the animal roamed what is now Britain approximately 120 million years ago.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026

But the tiger kept following, and he kept saying, ‘Give me some of your food and I won’t eat you.’

From "Finding Junie Kim" by Ellen Oh

His late ’90s breakthrough in the triple-hitter lineup of “Halloween: H20,” “The Faculty” and “The Virgin Suicides” catapulted him to international fame practically overnight, cementing his place alongside the era’s Tiger Beat celebrity infatuations.

From Salon ● Oct. 9, 2026

Cross-sport athletes are also being considered for a new professional flag football league, backed by the NFL and the likes of Tiger Woods and Serena Williams.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

Researcher Tiger Shankman has hailed its “perky, anachronistic beauty.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026

In years that followed Nike partnered with generational talents Tiger Woods, Serena Williams and Cristiano Ronaldo, who all donned the Swoosh on their way to golf, tennis and football greatness.

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

“Please,” she said, “my friend, the Green Tiger injured him and he’s hurt and . . The grandfather quickly pushed the children off of him and stood up. “Hurt by the Green Tiger!” he said.

From "Where the Mountain Meets the Moon" by Grace Lin

From the walkway, visitors can view the park's Amur tigers in their enclosure which includes woodland, grassland and a waterfall pool.

From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026

Photos of the enclosure on the park's website shows a high walkway for visitors and fencing above the section where the tigers can roam.

From BBC ● Oct. 11, 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

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

I mean, you need someone responsible to make sure we still have tigers.

From "Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer" by Kelly Jones

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