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
The first gray wolf documented in California since 1924 was a wolf called OR7, who made his way from Oregon to California.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026
"The Mexican grey wolf is not recovered simply because the population has grown," said Claire Musser, executive director of the Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project.
From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026
The Sacramento Bee, which reported earlier on the wolf sighting, called the appearance of the canine in Lake County “especially significant” because much of the species’ recovery has occurred east of Interstate 5.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026
She cried above the howling wind, “I just sent that wolf into some unknown realm!”
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
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
“That is precisely what the market is trying to figure out,” said Marex’s Wolf.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 13, 2026
Commissioned by the NSO, Wolf Trap Foundation and several other organizations, it blends jazz, blues and orchestral tunes in a celebration of the nation’s story.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026
The Wolf Conservation Center noted that ranchers were entitled to up to 100% compensation for any livestock losses caused by wolves under the current system, with individual states providing funding for programmes to deter attacks.
From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026
Wolf was nosing about in the back of the cave, and Renn was sorting herbs in her lap.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
They’re all gone now, long extinct just like the saber-toothed cats and dire wolves that walked the earth with them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026
The US government launched a campaign to systematically exterminate wolves towards the end of the 19th Century.
From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026
At least 50 wolves are currently known to be in the state, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s FAQ about gray wolves.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026
This, along with farmers and landowners trapping and killing wolves, pushed them to the brink of eradication.
From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026
Unlike timber wolves, brush wolves are not endangered, not protected, and are trapped heavily.
From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen
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
I don’t know why, but I was suddenly ravenous and wolfed down a dozen saltines and two chocolate chip cookies just to chase the taste of my humiliation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2025
Within 48 hours after our meetup, Pang swung by Green Valley and wolfed down another noodle bowl before he caught his flight.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 29, 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
Then either Strahinja or Nemanja Jokic logged onto their new, shared social media account and wolfed back at Marcus.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 11, 2021
Sansa, still disconsolate, stared sullenly at her food and refused to eat, but Arya wolfed down everything that was set in front of her.
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
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 stopped several times for roadside fruit at different points around the city, wolfing down chili-spiked mango, drenched in lime juice, from behind the wheel.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 4, 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
Children sat in groups, some wolfing down their food and others listlessly picking at it.
From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia
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.
