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

And yes, he saw the kid in the blue dress shirt wilding out to the song in a clip from a recent Kamala Harris campaign rally.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 21, 2024

Like a pack of wilding drunks, they’re destroying habitats, contaminating water with their wallowing and feces, eroding topsoil and generally making a mess of things.

From Washington Post • Mar. 10, 2023

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

They were still wilding and messing with people and putting out squad tracts.

From "145th Street: Short Stories" by Walter Dean Myers