wolf

UK: 'Wolf': English: /ˈwʊlf/, German: /vɔlf/; 'wolf': /ˈwʊlf/

US: /wʊlf/

US: 'Wolf': (vôlf ); 'wolf': (wŏŏlf )

Inflections of 'wolf' (n): npl: wolves

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

wolf /wʊlf/   n. [countable] , pl. wolves /wʊlvz/ ), v., wolfed, wolf•ing. 
n. [countable]

1. Mammals a meat-eating animal resembling and related to the dog.
2. a cruel, thieving, greedy person.
3. a man who tries to lure women into romantic relationships.

v. [~ + object]

4. to eat very greedily or quickly;
   devour with great haste:
   He wolfed (down) his food.

Idioms

5. Idioms cry wolf, to give a false alarm:
   The boy cried wolf so many times no one believed him when a real emergency arose.
6. Idioms wolf in sheep's clothing, [countable] a person who hides evil beneath an innocent outer appearance.

wolf•ish, adj. 

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

wolf  (wŏŏlf ), n., pl. wolves (wŏŏlvz),  v. 

n. 

1. any of several large carnivorous mammals of the genus Canis, of the dog family Canidae, esp. C. lupus, usually hunting in packs, formerly common throughout the Northern Hemisphere but now chiefly restricted to the more unpopulated parts of its range.
2. the fur of such an animal.
3. any of various wolflike animals of different families, as the thylacine.
4. (cap.) [Astron.] the constellation Lupus.
5. the larva of any of various small insects infesting granaries.
6. a cruelly rapacious person.
7. [Informal.] a man who makes amorous advances to many women.
8. [Music.]
   • the harsh discord heard in certain chords of keyboard instruments, esp. the organ, when tuned on some system of unequal temperament.
   • a chord or interval in which such a discord appears.
   • (in bowed instruments) a discordant or false vibration in a string due to a defect in structure or adjustment of the instrument.
9. cry wolf, to give a false alarm:
   Is she really sick or is she just crying wolf ?
10. keep the wolf from the door, to avert poverty or starvation;
    provide sufficiently for:
    Their small inheritance kept the wolf from the door.
11. wolf in sheep's clothing, a person who conceals his or her evil intentions or character beneath an innocent exterior.

v.t. 

12. to devour voraciously (often fol. by down):
    He wolfed his food.

v.i. 

13. to hunt for wolves.

• bef. 900; Middle English; Old English wulf; cognate with German Wolf, Old Norse ulfr, Gothic wulfs, Polish wilk, Lithuanian vil̃kas, Sanskrit vṛka; akin to Latin lupus, Greek lýkos

wolf′like′, adj. 

Wolf  (vôlf ), n. 

1. Biographical Baron Christian von. See Wolff, Baron Christian von. 
Frie•drich Au•gust  (frē′driкн ou′gŏŏst), 1759–1824, German classical scholar. Hu•go  (ho̅o̅′gō), 1860–1903, Austrian composer.
2. a male given name.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

wolf / wʊlf/ noun ( wolves / wʊlvz/)

1. 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
   Related adjective(s): lupine
2. any of several similar and related canines, such as the red wolf and the coyote (prairie wolf)
3. the fur of any such animal
4. Tasmanian wolf ⇒
   another name for the thylacine
5. a voracious, grabbing, or fiercely cruel person or thing
6. a person who habitually tries to seduce women
7. Also called: wolf note an unpleasant sound produced in some notes played on the violin, cello, etc, owing to resonant vibrations of the belly
8. an out-of-tune effect produced on keyboard instruments accommodated esp to the system of mean-tone temperament
   See temperament4
9. cry wolf ⇒ to give a false alarm
10. keep the wolf from the door ⇒ to ward off starvation or privation
11. lone wolf ⇒ a person or animal who prefers to be alone
12. wolf in sheep's clothing ⇒ a malicious person in a harmless or benevolent disguise

verb

1. (transitive) often followed by down: to gulp (down)
2. (intransitive) to hunt wolves

Etymology: Old English wulf; related to Old High German wolf, Old Norse ulfr, Gothic wulfs, Latin lupus and vulpēs fox

ˈwolfish adjective

ˈwolfˌlike adjective

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

Wolf / vɔlf/ noun

1. Friedrich August ( ˈfriːdrɪç ˈauɡʊst ). 1759–1824, German classical scholar, who suggested that the Homeric poems, esp the Iliad, are products of an oral tradition
2. Hugo ( ˈhuːɡo ). 1860–1903, Austrian composer, esp of songs, including the Italienisches Liederbuch and the Spanisches Liederbuch
3. / wʊlf/
   Howlin'. See Howlin' Wolf