What does "wolf" mean?
Canis lupus; the largest wild member of the canine subfamily.
Wolf
/wʊlf/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Canis lupus; the largest wild member of the canine subfamily.
- Grammar: wolf is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: african hunting dog, amorist, animal, antelope.
- Useful contrasts: ally, benefactor, dog.
- Usage evidence: We are trying to keep the wolf from the door.
How to use "wolf"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "wolf" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "wolf" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "wolf" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "wolf" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "wolf" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "african hunting dog" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "wolf", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Canis lupus; the largest wild member of the canine subfamily. countable
"He would listen quietly at meetings of the Politburo, or to distinguished visitors, puffing at his Dunhill pipe, doodling aimlessly - his secretaries Poskrebyshev and Dvinsky write that his pads were sometimes covered with the phrase ‘Lenin-teacher-friend’, but the last foreigner to visit him, in February 1953, noted that he was doodling wolves."
- 2 any of various predatory carnivorous canine mammals of North America and Eurasia that usually hunt in packs wordnet
- 3 Canis lupus; the largest wild member of the canine subfamily.; Any of several related canines that resemble Canis lupus in appearance, especially those of the genus Canis. countable
- 4 a cruelly rapacious person wordnet
- 5 A man who makes amorous advances to many women.
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 a man who is aggressive in making amorous advances to women wordnet
- 7 A wolf tone or wolf note.
"The soft violin solo was marred by persistent wolves."
- 8 Any very ravenous, rapacious, or destructive person or thing; especially, want; starvation. figuratively
"They toiled hard to keep the wolf from the door."
- 9 One of the destructive, and usually hairy, larvae of several species of beetles and grain moths.
- 10 A white worm which infests granaries, the larva of Nemapogon granella, a tineid moth.
- 11 A wolf spider.
- 12 An eating ulcer or sore. See lupus. obsolete
"If God should send a cancer upon thy face, or a wolf into thy side"
- 13 A willying machine, to cleanse wool or willow.
"The loosening and purifying of the raw cotton from the various impurities , such as sand, grit, &c., is accomplished by beating with the hand, or by the Wolf machine, by means of a cylinder, the surface of which is covered with sharp iron teeth"
Verb
- 1 To devour; to gobble; to eat (something) voraciously. transitive
""Here's these legal ferrets has got our Puddin' in their clutches, and here's us, spellbound with anguish, watchin' them wolfin' it.""
- 2 eat hastily wordnet
- 3 To make amorous advances to many women; to hit on women; to cruise for sex. intransitive, slang
"[1940s Chicago punk:] ‘I’ve seen a thing or two in my time,’ he still liked to boast, ‘that was how I found out the best place for wolfin’ ain’t the taverns. It ain’t in dance halls ’r on North Clark on Saturday night. It’s in the front row in Sunday school on Sunday mornin’. Oh yeh, I know a thing or two, I been around.’"
- 4 To hunt for wolves. intransitive
Proper Noun
- 1 The constellation Lupus.
- 2 A surname transferred from the given name.
- 3 A male given name.
Antonyms
Example
"We are trying to keep the wolf from the door."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "wolf"?
Common synonyms include: african hunting dog, amorist, animal, antelope, armadillo, atonalism.
How do you use "wolf" in a sentence?
We are trying to keep the wolf from the door.
How do you pronounce "wolf"?
Pronounced /wʊlf/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
Inherited from Middle English wolf, from Old English wulf, ƿulf, from Proto-West Germanic *wulf, from Proto-Germanic *wulfaz, from Proto-Indo-European *wĺ̥kʷos. Cognates Cognate with Scots wouf, North Frisian wulew, Saterland Frisian and German Low German Wulf, West Frisian, Alemannic German, and Dutch wolf, Bavarian bolf, bölf, Woif, Cimbrian and Mòcheno bolf, German Wolf, Luxembourgish Wollef, Vilamovian wuf, Yiddish וואָלף (volf), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, and Norwegian Nynorsk ulv, Faroese úlvur, Icelandic úlfur, Swedish ulf, ulv, Gothic 𐍅𐌿𐌻𐍆𐍃 (wulfs); also Irish and Scottish Gaelic olc (“bad, evil”), Lepontic 𐌖𐌋𐌊𐌏𐌔 (ulkos), Manx olk (“bad”), Sanskrit वृक (vṛ́ka), Persian گرگ (gorg), Latgalian vylks, Latvian vìlks, Lithuanian vilkas, Belarusian воўк (vowk), Bulgarian вълк (vǎlk), Czech and Slovak vlk, Macedonian and Russian волк (volk), Polish wilk, Serbo-Croatian вук, vuk, Slovene volk, Ukrainian вовк (vovk), Albanian ujk, ulk, Latin lupus, Greek λύκος (lýkos), Hittite 𒉿𒀠𒆪𒉿𒀸, Lydian 𐤥𐤠𐤩𐤥𐤤 (walwe, “lion”), Tocharian B walkwe. Doublet of lobo and lupus.
Etymology 2
From wolf.
Etymology 3
From Middle English and German short forms of given names containing the Germanic element "wolf".