the wild

noun

: a wild, free, or natural place, state, or existence

The plants were collected from the wild.

They will return the animal to the wild when it is healthy.

I've only seen that animal in a zoo, never in the wild.

Examples of the wild in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web With numbers climbing in the wild and in captivity, the species was downgraded from endangered to vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature in 2016. —

Karen Kucher, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 June 2024 The species is at a high risk of extinction in the wild, according to the zoo. —

Kate Linderman, Kansas City Star, 31 May 2024 The National Zoo estimates there are about 1,864 pandas living in the wild in China. —

Chris Morris, Fortune, 29 May 2024 When the macaws first arrived from Germany they were offered various foods from the wild. —

Fabiano Maisonnave, The Christian Science Monitor, 29 May 2024 See all Example Sentences for the wild

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'the wild.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.