maverick

1. (by extension) Anything dishonestly obtained.broadly

2. (by extension) One who is unconventional or does not abide by rules.Examples: "Among historians he was a maverick because of his belief that history is meaningless."; "As a voter, I'm a maverick, don't belong to any party. I believe that John Doe is the best available man for county commissioner, Richard Roe for sheriff, Joe Hicks for governor—but John is a Democrat, Dick is a Republican, and Joe is—well, something else."; "The relative merits of the civils and the demerits of the electricals were extolled in the following challenge: “To the A.I.E.E. [American Institute of Electrical Engineers], hereinafter referred to as the mavericks of the engineering profession.""Synonyms: heteroclite, individualist, lone gunman, nonconformist, rebelbroadly

3. (by extension) One who creates or uses controversial or unconventional ideas or practices.Examples: "We then drift back into our old habits, glorify efficiency, and smile knowingly at the mavericks within the faculty who want the administration to take democracy seriously."; "Florence Nightingale would have been perceived as a maverick during her early career, because she was prioritizing hygiene when everybody else involved in healthcare was focused on other things, such as surgery and pills."broadly

4. (military) A person in the military who became an officer by going to college while on active duty as an enlisted person.Examples: "They had been working for and with each other for a very long period and their tolerance for “mavericks” was very high, especially if these mavericks continued to get promoted."

5. (poker slang) A queen and a jack as a starting hand in Texas hold 'em.slang

1. (US) To take an unbranded range animal.Examples: "The court permitted the State to prove, over defendant's objections, that Thedford met Noon Tucker and Calvery driving the yearling over to Bachelor's for delivery. Thedford inquired of Noon "if that [meaning the yearling] was one he had mavericked?""; "For the capricious and uncertain favor of this the only marriageable young lady in the district, all the susceptible and unattached cowboys (of which class the population almost wholly consisted) strove together eagerly and without ceasing, mavericking right and left everything they could lay their hands on, with a running brand L I L, until, when the tenderfoot she had all along been engaged to came out and married her, she brought him great herds of L I L cattle, with which they gayly set up a ranch beneath the noses of the forlorn celibate community."US

2. (by extension) To seize without a legal claim.broadly