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• wilding
  wilding

  noun

  a wild apple tree.
• Wilding
  Wilding

  noun

  ( Frederick ) Anthony . 1883–1915, New Zealand tennis player; Wimbledon singles champion (1910–1913) and doubles champion (1907–08, 1910, 1913)

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

See Examples For:

wilding Wilding

He’s also been wilding out on Truth Social, uncorking a series of posts that are unhinged, even for him.

From Salon ● Jun. 25, 2025

“It was such a magical moment, and so iconic what it represents for conservation and wilding in this country,” said Gibbs, who first spotted the baby bison on Sept. 9.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 27, 2022

Every night on Clubhouse, people are just wilding.

From The Verge ● Feb. 1, 2022

I was like, “They’re really wilding out here in New York.”

From New York Times ● Nov. 18, 2021

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

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

“In general, this likely means less anchoring of expectations, more volatility in front-end rates, and a higher probability of policy surprises in either direction,” Pimco economist Tiffany Wilding wrote this week.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026

The study was led by Professor John Wilding from the University of Liverpool in the UK along with fellow researchers.

From Science Daily ● May 19, 2026

Wilding, who was then a young researcher on the team, said the results had been "very interesting" but at the time the future significance of this discovery was not fully appreciated.

From BBC ● May 16, 2026

A notable part of their divergence in 2026 can be traced back to accelerating “technology-related inflation,” according to Wilding.

From MarketWatch ● May 7, 2026

Alas, there are still plenty of people who think, with Nick Wilding, that ‘social constructivism does not go nearly far enough.’

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton