wild, v. — Green’s Dictionary of Slang

wild v.

[popularized through media reports of the savage rape and beating of New York’s ‘Central Park jogger’ in 1989. According to the accused, ‘wild’, like its noun form ‘wilding’, is a nonce word, used by them alone and meaning simply going wild. It was elevated to a slang term after a report in the New York Times on 22 April 1989. However, the term is used, in the criminal sense and earlier, by the rapper Ice T on his album Rhyme Pays (1987); note also buck-wild adj.]

(US black)

1. to go out looking for victims to mug and attack; usu. as noun wilding or pron. wilin’.

1987		Ice-T ‘Radio Suckers’ 🎵 Gangs illin, wildin’ and killin’.
1998		Source Oct. 156: Then he got better. And he started wilding out again.
1999		Noreaga ‘Blood Money Part 3’ 🎵 When I perform / And scream, What What / When I scream What What / Straight wildin.
2000		Eminem ‘Drug Ballad’ 🎵 You are now allowed to officially slap bitches / You have the right to remain violent and start wilin’.
2005		S. Auslander ‘One Death to Go’ in Beware of God (2007) 111: The next twenty [deaths] were the result of a night of New York City wildings.
2016		Slate 13 Nov. 🌐 All over this country, the deplorables are wilding. ‘US Hate Crimes Spark Anxiety in the Wake of Trump Win,’ says a [...] headline.

2. to have sexual intercourse.

1997		Busta Rhymes ‘Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See’ 🎵 Wildin with my freak like we up in the freak shows.
2003		R. Kelly ‘Snake’ 🎵 Wildin’ out in the back of my car.

3. to attack.

2002

Simon & Burns ‘The Wire’ Wire ser. 1 ep. 6 [TV script] If you asked questions before you start wilding on niggers you might save everybody some trouble.

4. to talk sarcastically.

2004

Simon & Alvarez ‘Homecoming’ Wire ser. 3 ep. 6 [TV script] ‘Maybe we should help ’em out. Tell ’em who did what.’ ’Stop wildin’ Kimmy. All right. I said I got this’.

In phrases

wild out (v.) [poss. equally linked to wild adj. (1)]

1. to party, to act crazily.

2000		Guardian Weekend 27 May 13: I was wildin’ out, partying.
2001		Source Aug. 140: When we’re on the road and muthafuckas wildin’ out in their hotel rooms, AZ will be the one in his room reading.
2016		C. Eble (ed.) UNC-CH Campus Sl. Spring 2016 11: WILE — act out of control: ‘She was so drunk she was wiling at the party’.

2. to cause trouble for.

2011

G. Hayward Corruption Officer [ebk] cap. 14: I would definitely wild out on him. Then I thought, but how could I? [...] I am an Officer and that meant that not only can I not blow him up, I can’t blow myself up either.

3. (UK black) to lose one’s temper with someone, to berate.

2020

G. Krauze What They Was 26: My mother started wiling out at me so I said fuck it and I told here I was moving.