Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun One who is engaged in speculative mining or well drilling in areas not known to be productive.
  • noun A promoter of speculative or fraudulent business enterprises.
  • noun A worker who participates in a wildcat strike.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun One who prospects for oil or ores, or takes other ventures; one who opens new oil-wells, mines, or similar venturesome enterprises.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun US Someone who drills for oil speculatively
  • noun A worker who participates in a wildcat strike
  • noun firearms person who makes wildcat ammunition and the guns that use them.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun an oilman who drills exploratory wells in territory not known to be an oil field

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word wildcatter.

Examples

  • The term "wildcatter" generally refers to a person or company that drills oil wells in areas not known to be oil fields, indicating that many of the companies included in this fund maintain speculative, risky operations.

    ETFs News and Commentary from Seeking Alpha 2010

  • The term "wildcatter" generally refers to a person or company that drills oil wells in areas not known to be oil fields, indicating that many of the companies included in this fund maintain speculative, risky operations.

    SeekingAlpha.com: Home Page 2010

  • I’ve never been able to figure out whether a wildcatter is a special breed of man… or just a fool.

    Wildcatter’s Woman Janet Dailey 1990

  • I’ve never been able to figure out whether a wildcatter is a special breed of man… or just a fool.

    Wildcatter’s Woman Janet Dailey 1990

  • I’ve never been able to figure out whether a wildcatter is a special breed of man… or just a fool.

    Wildcatter’s Woman Janet Dailey 1990

  • I’ve never been able to figure out whether a wildcatter is a special breed of man… or just a fool.

    Wildcatter’s Woman Janet Dailey 1990

  • Uncle Drew, a wildcatter from Oklahoma, swirled his very wet tongue in his very wet mouth.

    Three Stages of Amazement Carol Edgarian 2011

  • Part wildcatter, part deal-maker, the 64-year-old executive has a track record of building up oil and gas exploration companies from scratch, taking them public and selling them for a premium, having done so twice prior to Thursday's deal.

    Deal Is Coup for Petrohawk's Chief Ryan Dezember 2011

  • The map looked like something a wildcatter might use—not to drill for oil but to barrel Riesling and Cabernet Franc.

    Paper or Plastic? Wine by the Box, Keg and Can Lettie Teague 2011

  • He's a wildcatter, taking over an old mine whose riches are mostly gone.

    Chile Mine Collapse Highlights Safety Risks 2010

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.