wild oat

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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.

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

Related Words for sow wild oats

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

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

sow wild oats in Culture

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.”