1. a person who drills oil wells in areas not known to be oil fields
Usage: oil industry
2. a person who engages in risky business ventures or speculation
Usage: informal

Examples

• The wildcatter invested his life savings in drilling for oil in remote Texas.
• Many wildcatters struck it rich during the early oil boom.
• She was known as a wildcatter who took chances on unproven oil fields.
• The wildcatter’s gamble paid off when they discovered a major oil reserve.
• He made his fortune as a wildcatter in the 1920s oil rush.
• The wildcatter drilled dozens of dry holes before finding oil.