| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| wolf |
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| PRONUNCIATION: |  w lf |
| NOUN: | Inflected forms: pl. wolves ( wlvz)
1a. Either of two carnivorous mammals of the family Canidae, especially the gray wolf of northern regions, that typically live and hunt in hierarchical packs and prey on livestock and game animals. b. The fur of such an animal. c. Any of various similar or related mammals, such as the hyena. 2. The destructive larva of any of various moths, beetles, or flies. 3. One that is regarded as predatory, rapacious, and fierce. 4. Slang A man given to paying unwanted sexual attention to women. 5. Music a. A harshness in some tones of a bowed stringed instrument produced by defective vibration. b. Dissonance in perfect fifths on a keyboard instrument tuned to a system of unequal temperament. | | TRANSITIVE VERB: | Inflected forms: wolfed, wolf·ing, wolfs
To eat greedily or voraciously: “The town's big shots were … wolfing down the buffet” (Ralph Ellison). | | IDIOMS: | wolf at the door Creditors or a creditor. wolf in sheep's clothing One who feigns congeniality while actually holding malevolent intentions. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Middle English, from Old English wulf. See w kwo- in Appendix I.
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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