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wide-open

[ wahyd-oh-puhn ]
/ ˈwaɪdˈoʊ pən /
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adjective
opened to the full extent: a wide-open window.
lacking laws or strict enforcement of laws concerning liquor, vice, gambling, etc.: a wide-open town.
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Origin of wide-open

First recorded in 1850–55
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use wide-open in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for wide-open

wide-open

adjective (wide open when postpositive)
open to the full extent
(postpositive) exposed to attack; vulnerable
uncertain as to outcome
US informal (of a town or city) lax in the enforcement of certain laws, esp those relating to the sale and consumption of alcohol, gambling, the control of vice, etc
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

Other Idioms and Phrases with wide-open

wide open

1

Unresolved, unsettled, as in The fate of that former colony is still wide open. [Mid-1900s]

2

Unprotected or vulnerable, as in That remark about immigrants left him wide open to hostile criticism. This expression originated in boxing, where it signifies being off one's guard and open to an opponent's punches. It began to be used more broadly about 1940. Also see leave open.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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