any of several large carnivorous mammals of the genus Canis, of the dog family Canidae, especially C. lupus, usually hunting in packs, formerly common throughout the Northern Hemisphere but now chiefly restricted to the more unpopulated parts of its range.
the fur of any of several large carnivorous mammals of the genus Canis, especially C. lupus.
any of various animals of different families that are similar to C. lupus, such as the thylacine.
Astronomy. Wolf, the constellation Lupus.
the larva of any of various small insects infesting granaries.
a cruelly rapacious person.
Informal. a man who makes amorous advances to many women.
Music.
the harsh discord heard in certain chords of keyboard instruments, especially the organ, when tuned on some system of unequal temperament.
a chord or interval in which harsh discord appears when tuned on some system of unequal temperament.
(in bowed instruments) a discordant or false vibration in a string due to a defect in structure or adjustment of the instrument.
wolf in sheep's clothing, a person who conceals evil intentions or character beneath an innocent exterior.
keep the wolf from the door, to avert poverty or starvation; provide sufficiently for.
Their small inheritance kept the wolf from the door.
throw (someone or something) to the wolves / dogs, to place or leave in a bad situation with no assistance, especially in order to protect oneself.
The coach threw his rookie players to the wolves following their embarrassing loss.
cry wolf, to give a false alarm.
Is she really sick or is she just crying wolf ?
Baron Christian von. Christian von Wolff.
Friedrich August 1759–1824, German classical scholar.
Hugo 1860–1903, Austrian composer.
a male given name.
a predatory canine mammal, Canis lupus, which hunts in packs and was formerly widespread in North America and Eurasia but is now less common See also timber wolf
any of several similar and related canines, such as the red wolf and the coyote ( prairie wolf )
the fur of any such animal
another name for the thylacine
a voracious, grabbing, or fiercely cruel person or thing
informal a man who habitually tries to seduce women
informal the destructive larva of any of various moths and beetles
Also called: wolf note. music
an unpleasant sound produced in some notes played on the violin, cello, etc, owing to resonant vibrations of the belly
an out-of-tune effect produced on keyboard instruments accommodated esp to the system of mean-tone temperament See temperament
to give a false alarm
to ward off starvation or privation
a person or animal who prefers to be alone
to abandon or deliver to destruction
a malicious person in a harmless or benevolent disguise
to gulp (down)
(intr) to hunt wolves
Friedrich August (ˈfriːdrɪç ˈauɡʊst). 1759–1824, German classical scholar, who suggested that the Homeric poems, esp the Iliad, are products of an oral tradition
Hugo (ˈhuːɡo). 1860–1903, Austrian composer, esp of songs, including the Italienisches Liederbuch and the Spanisches Liederbuch
Howlin'. See Howlin' Wolf
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English wulf; cognate with German Wolf, Old Norse ulfr, Gothic wulfs, all from Germanic wulfaz; akin to Polish wilk, Czech vlk, Lithuanian vil̃kas, Sanskrit vṛka-, and Latin lupus, Greek lýkos
A wolf is a larger, wilder relative of your pet dog. Like your cocker spaniel, a wolf is a canine. Unlike your cocker spaniel, a wolf isn't nice to cuddle with during a thunderstorm. You can find wolves in parts of Europe, Asia, and North America, although there are significantly fewer of them today than there once were. Conservation measures have steadied the wolf population in remote and rural areas since the 1970s, however, so they're no longer considered endangered. Wolves rarely attack humans, unless they're sick with rabies. As a verb, to wolf means to eat very fast — in other words, to eat as voraciously as a wolf.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It has crept its way into dinner-table fodder at Ellina, where patrons wolf down $89 steaks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
“This is incredibly exciting news — the news we in wolf recovery for decades have been waiting for,” Amaroq Weiss, a former senior wolf advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity, told the news outlet.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026
However, environmental groups pointed to studies that suggested wolf attacks on livestock were rare and had little impact on ranchers' income.
From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026
A gray wolf was spotted in Lake County, a bright sign that the recovering endangered species is expanding its presence in California, wildlife officials say.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026
Slop pushed down the wolf head so its teeth were hanging over his eyes.
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
"Wolf of Essex caged" reads the paper's headline.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
But just as we wouldn’t expect Ted Lasso to solve a grisly homicide, we probably shouldn’t assume a Dick Wolf regular who isn’t Christopher Meloni can ham it up for a live audience.
From Salon ● Sep. 15, 2026
The DJ, producer and founder of the longtime L.A. record label Stones Throw, who performs as Peanut Butter Wolf, was looking after his daughter’s bearded dragon, Sweet Pea, for the afternoon.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
“We are also seeing resource nationalism and de-globalization. Copper is one of the most visible examples of this strategic stockpiling theme, but it applies to all critical minerals,” Wolf told MarketWatch.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 13, 2026
Renn sat some way off, trimming the flights on her arrows, and Wolf lay between them licking his paws clean, having swiftly dispatched the joint of grouse that Torak had saved for him.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
The bill signing comes as California’s gray wolves had at least 42 pups this year — a record.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2026
Right now the bond markets are like a pack of wolves stalking red deer, probing for weaknesses.
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026
Globally, caribou undertake the longest single land migrations of any animal - travelling 839 miles in a round trip, while grey wolves have been recorded travelling more than 4,350 miles over a year.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
While wolves have eaten livestock, it’s not common.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026
To all appearances, the trio of barking, nipping, squirrel-chasing imps had been raised by wolves, and this was why they were not, strictly speaking, ordinary children.
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
Costa conveys nearly everything he needs to simply through his arrangement of the actors’ bodies: The man hungrily wolfs down his food in the foreground, chattering about Joaquim’s kindness and decency.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2020
Alleged assailants in both cases have been painted as lone wolfs acting out of mental instability and disagreement with the politicians’ messages.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 16, 2018
Even the highest-ranking executive shamelessly wolfs down a taco.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 20, 2015
He's a boy and wolfs his food down.
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2015
I said, “But, Ma, how come everybody keeps telling me ’bout what I done to Mr. Douglass that got all the bears and wolfs coming to the Settlement looking for something to eat?”
From "Elijah of Buxton" by Christopher Paul Curtis
As a teenager, I wolfed down tomes such as “Salem’s Lot,” “The Green Mile,” “Firestarter” and “Carrie.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 31, 2023
On January 2, I wolfed down a breakfast of dehydrated porridge with Christian Wild, a postdoctoral scholar who works with Pettit.
From Scientific American ● Oct. 18, 2022
The children wolfed down usually verboten sugary cereals, while the dads pounded coffees and breakfast sandwiches.
From Washington Post ● May 27, 2021
Here are five comfort-inspired dishes I’ve wolfed down happily in recent weeks that have warmed me up during these shivery days.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 12, 2020
I wolfed down the yam and ran back to the old man and handed him twenty cents, "Give me two more," I said.
From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison
I saw something about Messi wolfing on a brisket sandwich at a Buc-ee’s but without video proof, I suspect that may have been an AI hallucination.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026
“I would be wolfing down this food,” Walton said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 3, 2024
People who viewed the campaign requiring them to imagine themselves wolfing down the French fries indicated a desire to eat fewer chips than those who were exposed to the French fries campaign without consumption imagery.
From Salon ● Apr. 26, 2023
On Day 3, out of desperation, I decided to pick her up while she was wolfing down her dinner, an interruption guaranteed to elicit a howl of protest.
From New York Times ● Aug. 29, 2022
The boys in the group flung themselves onto the bunk beds, giggling with the men, and went about wolfing bread, bananas and candy sticks the men had left out in the open—like bait for fish.
From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane
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.
