wild (wilds plural) (wilder comparative) (wildest superlative )
1 adj Wild animals or plants live or grow in natural surroundings and are not looked after by people.
usu ADJ n
We saw two more wild cats creeping towards us in the darkness..., The lane was lined with wild flowers.
2 adj Wild land is natural and is not used by people.
usu ADJ n
Elmley is one of the few wild areas remaining in the South East.
wildness n-uncount
...the wildness of the mountains.
3 n-plural The wilds of a place are the natural areas that are far away from towns.
the N
They went canoeing in the wilds of Canada.
4 adj Wild is used to describe the weather or the sea when it is stormy.
usu ADJ n
(=stormy)
The wild weather did not deter some people from swimming in the sea.
5 adj Wild behaviour is uncontrolled, excited, or energetic.
oft v-link ADJ with n
The children are wild with joy..., As George himself came on stage they went wild..., They marched into town to the wild cheers of the inhabitants.
wildly adv ADV with v
As she finished each song, the crowd clapped wildly.
6 adj If you describe someone or their behaviour as wild, you mean that they behave in a very uncontrolled way.
The house is in a mess after a wild party.
wildly adv ADV with v
Five people were injured as Reynolds slashed out wildly with a kitchen knife.
wildness n-uncount
He had come to love the danger and the wildness of his life.
7 adj If someone is wild, they are very angry.
INFORMAL usu v-link ADJ
(=mad, crazy)
For a long time I daren't tell him I knew, and when I did he went wild.
8 adj A wild idea is unusual or extreme. A wild guess is one that you make without much thought.
ADJ n
Browning's prediction is no better than a wild guess.
wildly adv
`Thirteen?' he guessed wildly.
10 If you are wild about someone or something, you like them very much.
INFORMAL
be wild about phrase V inflects
(=be crazy about)
I'm just wild about Peter, and he's just wild about me...
11 Animals that live in the wild live in a free and natural state and are not looked after by people.
in the wild phrase PHR after v, v-link PHR
Fewer than a thousand giant pandas still live in the wild.
12 If something or someone, especially a child, runs wild, they behave in a natural, free, or uncontrolled way.
run wild phrase V inflects
Everything that could grow was running wild for lack of attention...
13 →
beyond your wildest dreams →
dream →
in your wildest dreams →
dream →
to sow your wild oats →
oats
wild boar (wild boar plural) (wild boars plural )A wild boar is a large fierce pig which has two long curved teeth and a hairy body, and lives in forests. n-count
wild card (wild cards plural ), wildcard
1 n-count If you refer to someone or something as a wild card in a particular situation, you mean that they cause uncertainty because you do not know how they will behave.
oft N in n
The wild card in the picture is eastern Europe.
2 n-count If a sports player is given a wild card for a particular competition, they are allowed to play in it, although they have not qualified for it in the usual way. You can also use wild card to refer to a player who enters a competition in this way.
3 n-count A wildcard is a symbol such as * or ? which is used in some computing commands or searches in order to represent any character or range of characters. (COMPUTING)
wild child
Journalists sometimes use wild child to refer to a teenage girl who enjoys herself in an uncontrolled way, for example by going to a lot of parties.
(BRIT) n-sing
wild flower (wild flowers plural ), wildflower Wild flowers are flowers which grow naturally in the countryside, rather than being grown by people in gardens. n-count
wild goose chase (wild goose chases plural ), wild-goose chase If you are on a wild goose chase, you waste a lot of time searching for something that you have little chance of finding, because you have been given incorrect information. n-count usu on N
Harry wondered if Potts had deliberately sent him on a wild goose chase.
Wild West
The Wild West is used to refer to the western part of the United States during the time when Europeans were first settling there. n-sing the N
