wide-open

[ wahyd-oh-puhn ]

adjective

1. opened to the full extent:

   a wide-open window.

2. lacking laws or strict enforcement of laws concerning liquor, vice, gambling, etc.:

   a wide-open town.

wide-open

adjective

1. open to the full extent
2. postpositive exposed to attack; vulnerable
3. uncertain as to outcome
4. 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of wide-open¹

First recorded in 1850–55

Example Sentences

It’s another wide-open affair to determine No. 1, with Westchester the early favorite.

From Los Angeles Times

The clip has each of the band members on the back of motorcycles cruising across a wide-open desert landscape.

From Los Angeles Times

She continues because she genuinely likes it, she said, but also because, even in this big, beckoning land full of wide-open spaces, there’s almost nowhere else for working people to live.

From Los Angeles Times

In what is one of the more wide-open playoffs in recent Major League Baseball history, the Dodgers epitomize the relative state of parity.

From Los Angeles Times

Victor Williams, a neighborhood resident who was visiting the park with friends, said he can’t fathom all the destructive behavior, the trashing of the grounds and the wide-open drug activity.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• absolute
• boundless
• endless
• immeasurable
• immense
• incalculable
• indefinite
• infinite
• limitless
• unconditional
• unfettered
• universal
• unrestrained
• unrestricted
• untold
• vast