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

Guests are encouraged to dress in cowboy and Wild Wild West attire. —Abby Hamblin, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Apr. 2026

He had been obsessed with the country ever since his grandfather took him to see Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show as a child. —Hadley Hall Meares, Vanity Fair, 15 Apr. 2026

Now that the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) from Sunrise Boulevard to Oakland Park Boulevard is a no-wake zone, the narrower waterway from Oakland Park Boulevard to Commercial Boulevard has become the Wild West. —Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 11 Apr. 2026

Before leaving the state, the one-time gold mining town of Oatman features a Wild West atmosphere, daily staged shootouts and beloved burros. —Susan Montoya Bryan, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 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