Wild West

noun

variants or less commonly wild west

1

the Wild West : the western U.S. in its frontier period characterized by roughness and lawlessness

stories about the Wild West

2

: something that is chaotic and uncontrolled especially due to a lack of regulation or oversight

… mulling the idea of regulating an industry that has up until now been something of a Wild West.

—Michelle McQuigg

The online ecosystem … is a Wild West of information and misinformation that is largely unmonitored, distributed in an instant, and posted by anyone.

—Alan Marcus

Wild West adjective

or less commonly wild west

a bar with a Wild West theme

a wild west situation/approach

Examples of Wild West in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The rooms In keeping with the theme of the property, the rooms are inspired by the Wild West. —Asonta Benetti, Condé Nast Traveler, 30 Jan. 2026

All come with floor-to-ceiling windows, Wild West–chic furniture in leather and wrought iron, and more than 1,000 square feet of indoor living space. —Jennifer Flowers, AFAR Media, 30 Jan. 2026

Hyde Park Avenue was like the Wild Wild West, with motorists dodging huge snow banks, pedestrians, school children and MBTA bus riders who were forced off the sidewalks. —Joe Battenfeld, Boston Herald, 29 Jan. 2026

The patchwork efforts to identify and safely remove contamination left by the 2025 Eaton and Palisades fires has been akin to the Wild West. —Tony Briscoe, Los Angeles Times, 28 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1833, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for Wild West

• abreast
• accessed
• addressed
• appressed
• armrest
• arrest
• assessed
• attest
• backrest
• behest
• bequest
• caressed

Kids Definition

Wild West

noun

: the western U.S. in its frontier period characterized by roughness and lawlessness