Final answer:
Wildcards, represented by symbols like the question mark, allow for variations in spelling within a word to broaden search results, which is useful in tasks such as database searches.
Step-by-step explanation:
Similar to using truncation at the end of a word root, wildcards allow you to adjust for variations in spelling within a word -- again, this broadens your search. The common symbol for a wildcard is the question mark. For example, searching for 'organiz?' can help locate both 'organize' and 'organise'. Wildcards are a powerful tool when conducting searches in databases, programming, and various computing applications to match different permutations of a search term.