Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary

13beyond your wildest dreams → see dream

14in your wildest dreams → see dream

15to sow your wild oats → see oats SYNONYMS wild ADJ 1

savage:…a savage dog lunging at the end of a chain.

untamed:…the wild, untamed undergrowth.

feral:…feral cats.

wi ld boa r (wild boar or wild boars ) N‑COUNT A wild boar is a large fierce pig which has two long curved teeth and a hairy body, and lives in forests.

wi ld card (wild cards ) also 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. □ [+ in ] The wild card in the election was the radical party.

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|cat /wa I ldkæt/ (wildcats )

1 N‑COUNT A wildcat is a cat which is very fierce and lives especially in mountains and forests.

2 ADJ [ADJ n] A wildcat strike happens suddenly, as a result of a decision by a group of workers, and is not officially approved by a trade union. □  Frustration, anger and desperation have led to a series of wildcat strikes.

wi ld chi ld N‑SING 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 ]

wil|de|beest /w I ld I biːst, v I l-/ (wildebeest ) N‑COUNT A wildebeest is a large African antelope which has a hairy tail, short curved horns, and long hair under its neck. Wildebeest usually live in large groups.

wil|der|ness /w I ldə ^r nes/ (wildernesses ) N‑COUNT [usu sing] A wilderness is a desert or other area of natural land which is not used by people. □  …the icy Canadian wilderness.

wild|fire /wa I ldfa I ə ^r / (wildfires )

1 N‑COUNT A wildfire is a fire that starts, usually by itself, in a wild area such as a forest, and spreads rapidly, causing great damage. □  …a wildfire in Montana that's already burned thousands of acres of rich grassland.

2 PHRASE If something, especially news or a rumour, spreads like wildfire , it spreads extremely quickly. □  These stories are spreading like wildfire through the city.

wi ld flow|er (wild flowers ) also wildflower N‑COUNT Wild flowers are flowers which grow naturally in the countryside, rather than being grown by people in gardens.

wild|fowl /wa I ldfaʊl/ also wild fowl N‑PLURAL Wildfowl are birds such as ducks, swans, and geese that live close to lakes or rivers.

wi ld goo se chase (wild goose chases ) also wild-goose chase N‑COUNT [usu on N ] 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. □  Harry wondered if Potts had deliberately sent him on a wild goose chase.

wild|life /wa I ldla I f/ N‑UNCOUNT You can use wildlife to refer to the animals and other living things that live in the wild. □  People were concerned that pets or wildlife could be affected by the pesticides.

wild|ly /wa I ldli/

1 ADV [usu ADV adj, oft ADV after v] You use wildly to emphasize the degree, amount, or intensity of something. [EMPHASIS ] □  Reports of his drinking have been wildly exaggerated. □  The island's hotels vary wildly.

2 → see also wild

Wi ld We st N‑SING The Wild West is used to refer to the western part of the United States during the time when Europeans were first settling there.