Maverick

/ˈmævəɹɪk/ · adjective

Meaning

(of cattle) Unbranded..

Definitions by Sense

1. (of cattle) Unbranded.
2. Showing independence in thoughts or actions.
3. An unbranded range animal.
4. (by extension) Anything dishonestly obtained.
5. (by extension) One who is unconventional or does not abide by rules.
6. (by extension) One who creates or uses controversial or unconventional ideas or practices.
7. (military) A person in the military who became an officer by going to college while on active duty as an enlisted person.
8. (poker slang) A queen and a jack as a starting hand in Texas hold ’em.

Example Sentences

Occasionally some young men who have no cattle of their own will take part in these expeditions, or they will give their services by the year to receive a pro rata of all the maverick cattle that may be found. [Quoted from The Texas New Yorker, pages 110–111.]

But I would rather have maverick cattle, they are more accustomed to range conditions. My cattle from the registered herd have not done too well.

Attempts to regulate the distribution of maverick cattle throughout the 1880s affected particularly the access of cowboys to mavericks.

He made a maverick decision.  She is such a maverick person.

A maverick person tends to be wild, unsettled, and irresponsible, often an outlaw not bound by the rules and mores of society.

John Maynard Keynes, the internationally renowned economist, was impressed by Alan [Turing]'s work, and his unorthodox style. […] It is quite likely that Keynes viewed Alan and his maverick attitude to maths research sympathetically.

As resident jester at the maverick journalism outlet The Free Press, Nellie Bowles scours the news for the absurd and hypocritical, and then skewers the best of the worst in her column, TGIF.

In this distribution, care is taken to leave not only those which bear the owner's mark and brand, but his due proportion of the mavericks* that have been found upon the expedition. [footnote: *The term "maverick" is applied in this country to all animals that have neither mark nor brand upon them, and originated in this way:[…]]

Synonyms for maverick

Antonyms for maverick

Related Words

Word Forms

• more maverick
• most maverick
• mavericks
• mavericking
• mavericked

Usage Notes

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