wig|wam /w I gwæm, [AM ] -wɑːm/ (wigwams ) N‑COUNT A wigwam is the same as a tepee .
wi|ki /w I k I , -i ː-/ (wikis ) N‑COUNT A wiki is a website that allows anyone visiting it to change or add to the material in it. □ …wiki technology. □ Most wikis are collaborative websites.
wild ◆◆◇ /wa I ld/ (wilds , wilder , wildest )
1 ADJ [usu ADJ n] Wild animals or plants live or grow in natural surroundings and are not looked after by people. □ We saw two more wild cats creeping towards us in the darkness. □ The lane was lined with wild flowers.
2 ADJ [usu ADJ n] Wild land is natural and is not used by people. □ Elmley is one of the few wild areas remaining in the South East. ● wild|ness N‑UNCOUNT □ [+ of ] …the wildness of the mountains.
3 N‑PLURAL The wilds of a place are the natural areas that are far away from towns. □ [+ of ] They went canoeing in the wilds of Canada.
4 ADJ [usu ADJ n] Wild is used to describe the weather or the sea when it is stormy. □ The wild weather did not deter some people from swimming in the sea.
5 ADJ Wild behaviour is uncontrolled, excited, or energetic. □ [+ with ] 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. ● wild|ly 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. ● wild|ly ADV [ADV with v] □ Five people were injured as Reynolds slashed out wildly with a kitchen knife. ● wild|ness N‑UNCOUNT □ He had come to love the danger and the wildness of his life.
7 ADJ [usu v-link ADJ ] If someone is wild , they are very angry. [INFORMAL ] □ For a long time I daren't tell him I knew, and when I did he went wild.
8 ADJ [ADJ n] A wild idea is unusual or extreme. A wild guess is one that you make without much thought. □ Browning's prediction is no better than a wild guess. ● wild|ly ADV □ 'Thirteen?' he guessed wildly.
9 → see also wild child , wildly
10 PHRASE If you are wild about someone or something, you like them very much. [INFORMAL ] □ I'm just wild about Peter, and he's just wild about me.
11 PHRASE Animals that live in the wild live in a free and natural state and are not looked after by people. □ Fewer than a thousand giant pandas still live in the wild.
12 PHRASE If something or someone, especially a child, runs wild , they behave in a natural, free, or uncontrolled way.
13 beyond your wildest dreams → see dream
14 in your wildest dreams → see dream
15 to 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.
feraclass="underline" …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.