Webster's English Dictionary

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wildcat

1. wild.cat \'wi-(*)l(d)-.kat\ n or wildcats or wildcat pl  1a: either of 
   two cats (Felis sylvestris of Europe and F. oc reata of Africa) that 
   resemble but are heavier in build than the domestic tabby cat and are usu. 
   held to be among the ancestors of the domestic cat pl  1b: any of various 
   small or medium-sized cats (as the lynx or ocelot)  1c: a feral domestic 
   cat  2: a savage quick-tempered person 
2. wildcat aj 1a1: financially irresponsible or unreliable {~ banks}  1a2: 
   issued by a financially irresponsible banking establishment {~R currency} 
   1b: operating, produced, or carried on outside the bounds of standard or l 
   egitimate business practices 1c: of, relating to, or being an oil or gas 
   well drilled in territory not  known to be productive 1d: initiated by a 
   group of workers without formal union approval or in vi olation of a 
   contract {~ strike ~ work stoppage} of a cartridge  2a: having a bullet of 
   standard caliber but using an expanded case or a ca se designed for a 
   bullet of greater caliber necked down for the smaller bullet of a rifle  
   2b: using wildcat cartridges 
3. wildcat vi or wild.cat.ted;  or wild.cat.ting : to prospect and drill an 
   experimental oil or gas well or mine shaft in  territory not known to be 
   productive