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• wilding
  wilding

  noun

  a wild apple tree.
• Wilding
  Wilding

  noun

  ( Frederick ) Anthony . 1883–1915, New Zealand tennis player; Wimbledon singles champion (1910–1913) and doubles champion (1907–08, 1910, 1913)

wilding

¹ American  

[wahyl-ding] / ˈwaɪl dɪŋ /

noun

1. a wild apple tree.

2. its fruit.

3. any plant that grows wild.

4. a plant, originally cultivated, that now grows wild; an escape.

5. a wild animal.

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adjective

1. not cultivated or domesticated; wild.

wilding ² American  

noun

1. the practice by a group of youths of going on a random spree of violent criminal activity.

2. an instance of this.

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adjective

1. of or relating to such criminal activity.

   wilding teens;

   a wilding attack.

wilding ¹ British  

/ ˈwaɪldɪŋ /

noun

1. an uncultivated plant, esp the crab apple, or a cultivated plant that has become wild

2. a wild animal

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Wilding ² British  

/ ˈwaɪldɪŋ /

noun

1. ( Frederick ) Anthony . 1883–1915, New Zealand tennis player; Wimbledon singles champion (1910–1913) and doubles champion (1907–08, 1910, 1913)

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Etymology

Origin of wilding¹

First recorded in 1520–30; wild + -ing ³

Origin of wilding²

First recorded in 1985–90; wild + -ing ¹

Example Sentences

"Hollywood is on time out. I'm just going to put that right to the camera. Hollywood is wilding right now."

From Salon • Oct. 31, 2024

“Our young people are out here wilding sometimes, and whatever it takes for us to get them under control, we have to do it,” he said.

From Washington Post • Sep. 8, 2022

One of my favorite style of tweets is when people are like, “the brands are at it again,” and it usually just means brands are wilding on Twitter.

From The Verge • Aug. 23, 2022

For the Bene Gesserit, a religious order of women who influence history from the shadows, the color was a chorus of wilding female voices.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 23, 2022

I guess dorm parties got old, so they’re wilding out on the subway instead—and were joining them, dammit.

From "They Both Die at the End" by Adam Silvera