wide-open

[ wahyd-oh-puhn ]

/ ˈwaɪdˈoʊ pən /

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See synonyms for wide-open on Thesaurus.com

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

Words nearby wide-open

widely, Wideman, widemouth blindcat, widemouthed, widen, wide-open, wide-ranging, wide receiver, wide-screen, widespread, wide-spreading

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use wide-open in a sentence

The email appears to have been a relatively common attempt to gain personal information from a wide range of unwitting victims.
Was Sony Hit With a Second Hack?|Shane Harris|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
When it became too crowded, they moved her into an open casket on the street.
New York’s Most Tragic Ghost Loves Minimalist Swedish Fashion|Nina Strochlic|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Sprawled on chaise lounges with their knees high in the air and their legs spread wide.
Powerful Congressman Writes About ‘Fleshy Breasts’|Asawin Suebsaeng|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Now it can't open on my phone due to what appears to be software incompatibility.
My Week on Jewish Tinder|Emily Shire|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Some of them would open up deep splits in core Democratic constituencies.
Thank Congress, Not LBJ for Great Society|Julian Zelizer, Scott Porch|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
In cross-section the burrows varied from round (three inches in diameter) to oval (three inches high and four inches wide).
Summer Birds From the Yucatan Peninsula|Erwin E. Klaas
Let them open their minds to us, let them put upon permanent record the significance of all their intrigues and manœuvres.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation|H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
Her eyes, for a moment, fixed themselves with a horrid conviction of a wide and nameless treachery.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4|Jane Porter
The doors (Indian bungalows have hardly any windows, each door being half glass) were open front and back.
The Red Year|Louis Tracy
It was close upon twelve o'clock, and the "Rooms" had been open to the public for two hours.
Rosemary in Search of a Father|C. N. Williamson

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

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

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.

wide-open

Origin of wide-open

Words nearby wide-open

Words related to wide-open

How to use wide-open in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for wide-open

Other Idioms and Phrases with wide-open