It is also a type of extra, being the run awarded to the batting team as a consequence of such an illegal delivery.
If the wicket-keeper misses the ball and it travels all the way to the boundary, the batting team is awarded five wides.
However, this has only been the case since the early 1980s - the first Test to record wides (and no-balls) against the bowler's analyses was India vs Pakistan in September 1983.
An umpire straightens both arms to form a horizontal straight line to signal a wide.
If the batsman does a switch hit, then the ball may be bowled to either side of them within the standard distance without being called a wide.