wolf / woŏlf/ • n. (pl. wolves / woŏlvz/ ) 1. a wild carnivorous mammal that is the largest member of the dog family, living and hunting in packs. It is native to both Eurasia and North America, but has been widely exterminated. • Canis lupus, family Canidae; it is the chief ancestor of the domestic dog. ∎  used in names of similar or related mammals, e.g., maned wolf, Tasmanian wolf.2. used in similes and metaphors to refer to a rapacious, ferocious, or voracious person or thing. ∎ inf. a man who habitually seduces women.3. a harsh or out-of-tune effect produced when playing particular notes or intervals on a musical instrument, caused either by the instrument's construction or by divergence from equal temperament.• v. [tr.] devour (food) greedily: he wolfed down his breakfast.PHRASES: cry wolf call for help when it is not needed, with the effect that one is not believed when one really does need help.hold (or have) a wolf by the ears be in a precarious position.keep the wolf from the door have enough money to avert hunger or starvation (used hyperbolically): I work part-time to pay the mortgage and keep the wolf from the door.throw someone to the wolves leave someone to be roughly treated or criticized without trying to help or defend them.a wolf in sheep's clothing a person or thing that appears friendly or harmless but is really hostile.DERIVATIVES: wolf·ish adj.wolf·ish·ly adv.wolf·like / -ˌlīk/ adj.ORIGIN: Old English wulf, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch wolf and German Wolf, from an Indo-European root shared by Latin lupus and Greek lukos. The verb dates from the mid 19th cent.