maverick

American  

[mav-er-ik, mav-rik] / ˈmæv ər ɪk, ˈmæv rɪk /

noun

1. Southwestern U.S. an unbranded calf, cow, or steer, especially an unbranded calf that is separated from its mother.

2. 1. a lone dissenter, such as an intellectual, an artist, or a politician, who takes an independent stand apart from their peers.

      His unusual techniques made him a maverick of modern dance.

   2. a person pursuing rebellious, even potentially disruptive, policies or ideas.

      You can't muzzle a maverick.

3. Maverick, an electro-optically guided U.S. air-to-ground tactical missile for destroying tanks and other hardened targets at ranges up to 15 miles (24 km).

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adjective

1. unorthodox, unconventional, or nonconformist.

   She had a reputation as a maverick fiscal conservative willing to raise taxes.

maverick British  

/ ˈmævərɪk /

noun

1. (in US and Canadian cattle-raising regions) an unbranded animal, esp a stray calf

2. 1. a person of independent or unorthodox views

   2. ( as modifier )

      a maverick politician

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Pop Culture

—Dallas Mavericks: American professional basketball team based in Dallas, Texas, a member of the National Basketball Association (NBA). — Maverick : popular American TV series (1957–62) set in the Wild West that inspired a film of the same name (1994). —Maverick: Nickname and call sign of ace fighter pilot, played by Tom Cruise, in the film Top Gun (1986). —Ford Maverick: Stylish, youthfully designed mid-size car made in the late 1960s and ‘70s in North America and Brazil.

Etymology

Origin of maverick

An Americanism dating back to 1865–70; named after Samuel A. Maverick (1803–70), Texas pioneer who left his calves unbranded

Explanation

A maverick is a rebel, someone who shows a lot of independence. A maverick on a motorcycle might blaze her own trail, traveling around the country and earning money by performing in rodeos. Samuel A. Maverick owned a lot of cattle, and he let them roam around Texas without a brand, or identification mark, seared into their skins. Samuel was a maverick for going against the common practice of tracking his animals, and his last name became part of the English language as both an adjective and a noun in the 19th century. Someone who acts very independently is a maverick, and individual actions that stand out are maverick, as in "her maverick jumping style on the ice was both wild and delicate."

Example Sentences

The cynical maneuver so disgusted Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, a maverick Democrat from rural Washington state, that she defied party leaders and introduced a resolution rebuking Garcia.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 18, 2026

Punk IPA had become their favourite beer and they admired the maverick Aberdeenshire company's bid to take on the global brewing giants.

From BBC • Mar. 4, 2026

His unfiltered comments are part of his self-styled image as a maverick, which found traction in a nation where corruption, red tape and institutional dysfunction impact people's lives at every level.

From Barron's • Feb. 20, 2026

So much so that we have names for the type: maverick, individualist, iconoclast, dissenter, rebel, freethinker.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 18, 2026

He had always had problems with his maverick youngest, and her running off hadn't helped.

From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez