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

Wynonna, with help from her younger sister, the town’s sheriff and an infamous Wild West gunslinger, must save her hometown from demons and other supernatural creatures. — Emily Weaver, PEOPLE, 5 July 2026

Explore the Wild West from the back of a rickety wagon as characters share famed fables about Paul Bunyan, Babe the Blue Ox, Pecos Bill, John Henry and Hekeke. — Lesly Gregory, AJC.com, 1 July 2026

Out here in the Wild West, that’s a Get Out Of A Ticket card. — William Roberson, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026

Buffalo Bill turned the battle into theater in his famous Wild West show. — New York Times, 28 June 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