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

Murdoch even owned the Dodgers for a stretch to corner the market on what was then a Wild West shoot-out among TV programmers to launch cable channels. — Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 21 Aug. 2026

Venture just beyond downtown to Mount Moriah Cemetery, where Calamity Jane lies buried next to Wild Bill Hickok; paths through the pines lead to the graves of pioneers and other Wild West figures, like Seth Bullock. — Jacqueline Kehoe, Midwest Living, 19 Aug. 2026

Instituting eight principles through state laws (since states generally oversee surrogacy) would greatly help provide basic order to this Wild West. — Arthur L. Caplan, STAT, 18 Aug. 2026

The Wild West was even then a myth receding into a hazy, heroic past. — Rachel Monroe, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 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