Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
to go wild over

to go wild over

1 3.9
Become very excited and happy about something like a song or a pet
  • phrasal verb
  • Informal
translation icon : volverse loco por
  • Women will go wild over your socks.

Examples

  • At the concert, fans went wild over the surprise guest singer.

  • - Hey, the girls go wild over a uniform.

    Gallipoli (1981)

  • Customers go wild over chocolate-enrobed macarons, so much so that the bakery only offers them at holiday time, or William would spend the best part of each day making them.

    Blog text (1)

  • Children go wild over the new superhero movie that just came out.

  • My friends always go wild over the latest tech gadgets.

Synonyms

to get excited
vsto go wild over
112 1.0

To feel very eager and happy about something

is stronger, showing intense passion rather than mild eagerness
to rave
vsto go wild over
68 4.6

Speak about something in a very excited, positive way

is about becoming intensely enthusiastic rather than only praising
to go bananas
vsto go wild over
  • Informal
8 8.1

To lose control because you are very excited or angry

focuses on strong positive excitement and passion, not anger
to gush over
vsto go wild over
4 7.0

Praise a person or thing in a very excited way

is about strong excitement or passion beyond just verbal praise
to bubble over
vsto go wild over
2 4.7

To be so full of strong feeling or excitement that you show it clearly

is focused on intense passion itself rather than the visible overflow
to go batshit
vsto go wild over
  • Offensive
2 9.9

To become very angry and act in a wild, out of control way

centers on intense enthusiasm without implying anger or irrationality
to go nutso
vsto go wild over
  • Slang
1 9.6

To get very excited and act loudly

is broader, covering strong enthusiasm that may develop gradually
to bubble over with excitement
vsto go wild over
3.5

Show so much excitement that you cannot hide it

is about becoming very excited, not only visibly overflowing

Antonyms

apathetic
24 6.8

Not showing much interest or energy

indifferent
1 4.5

Not important and having little effect

How Excited

to go wild over
  • Informal
1 3.9
to get excited
112 1.0
to like
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

go wild over infinitive
going wild over present participle
goes wild over third person singular
went wild over past
gone wild over past participle

Morphology

go + wild + over

The meaning is directly compositional: 'go' indicates a change of state, 'wild' (in the figurative sense) conveys intense excitement, and 'over' marks the target of that excitement, so together they yield 'become very excited about X.' This go + ADJ + preposition pattern is common and cross-linguistically transparent, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent meanings can readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Go wild over uses the words go and wild to paint a clear picture: someone acts like a wild animal—shouting, jumping, and unable to stay calm—when they see something they love. That's why it means 'to become very excited or enthusiastic about' something.