tiger

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ti·ger / ˈtīgər/ • n. a very large solitary cat (Panthera tigris) with a yellow-brown coat striped with black, native to the forests of Asia but becoming increasingly rare. ∎  used to refer to someone fierce, determined, or ambitious: despite his wound, he still fought like a tiger one of the sport's young tigers. ∎  (also tiger economy) a dynamic economy of one of the smaller eastern Asian countries, esp. that of Singapore, Taiwan, or South Korea.PHRASES: have a tiger by the tail have embarked on a course of action that proves unexpectedly difficult but that cannot easily or safely be abandoned.ORIGIN: Middle English: from Old French tigre, from Latin tigris, from Greek.

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