definitions

wild oat

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR wild oat ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

any uncultivated species of Avena, especially a common weedy grass, A. fatua, resembling the cultivated oat.
a hardy plant, Uvularia sessilifolia, of the lily family, of eastern North America, having deep green, hairy leaves and greenish-yellow, tubular flowers.

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RELATED WORDS

trespass, sin, offend, fail, misconduct, roughhouse, deviate, transgress, err, stray, cheat, lapse, backslide, misbehave, fall, wander, rebel

Nearby words

wild madder, wild man, wild mandrake, wild monkshood, wild mustard, wild oat, wild oats, wild olive, wild orange, wild pansy, wild parsley

Idioms

    sow one's wild oats, to have a youthful fling at reckless and indiscreet behavior, especially to be promiscuous before marriage.

Origin of wild oat

First recorded in 1490–1500
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for sow wild oats

wild oat

noun

any of several temperate annual grasses of the genus Avena, esp A. fatua, that grow as weeds and have long bristles on their flower spikes
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Culture definitions for sow wild oats

sow wild oats

To engage in youthful indiscretions, usually sexual liaisons: “Paul asked his father if he had sowed his wild oats before getting married.”

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.