Wildcard

Definitions

1. A character that takes the place of any other character or string that is not known or specified.
2. An uncontrolled or unpredictable element.
3. An element, often deliberately concealed, which is withheld for contingency.
4. A letter or symbol that substitutes for a generic or poorly identified sound, for example capital C for any or some consonant, or capital V for any or some vowel.

Equivalents

Examples

“1968, Digital Equipment Corporation, VAX/VMS 319(5864), page 751, Section 2.1.2 Using Wildcard Characters A wildcard character is a symbol that you can use⟳ with many DCL commands to apply⟳ the command to several files at once, rather than specifying each file⟳ individually.”

“If the character * is acting as a wildcard, then the pattern a*m matches each of the words amalgam, atom and alum.”

“There are several technical wildcards, such as how the larger battery packs--four times larger than those of the Prius--will withstand⟳ the rigors of city driving, […]”

“German wildcard Sabine Lisicki conquered her nerves to defeat⟳ France's Marion Bartoli and take⟳ her amazing Wimbledon run⟳ into the semi-finals.”

CEFR level