# wide open

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/wide-open
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

Having no laws or law enforcement.

## Examples

- That town is wide open — nobody follows the rules.
- In the remote border region, the area was wide open, with no police presence for miles around.
- The frontier settlement remained wide open throughout the gold rush, its dusty streets governed by neither sheriff nor judge.

---

From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.