Usually meanders. turnings or windings; a winding path or course.
a circuitous movement or journey.
an intricate variety of fret or fretwork.
to follow a winding course
to wander without definite aim or direction
(often plural) a curve or bend, as in a river
(often plural) a winding course or movement
an ornamental pattern, esp as used in ancient Greek architecture
1570–80; < Latin maeander < Greek maíandros a winding, special use of Maíandros, the Menderes River, noted for its winding course
To meander means to wander aimlessly on a winding roundabout course. If you want some time to yourself after school, you might meander home, taking the time to window shop and look around. Meander comes from a river in modern-day Turkey, the Maiandros, which winds and wanders on its course. Today, a stream or a path meanders, as does a person who walks somewhere in a roundabout fashion. If your speech meanders, you don't keep to the point. It's hard to understand what your teacher is trying to impart if he keeps meandering off with anecdotes and digressions. Pronounce meander with three syllables not two — me-AN-der.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
That reminds me of Jane Alison's "Meander, Spiral, Explode," where she shows how the traditional pyramid structure plot is not the only way to tell a story.
From Salon • Apr. 13, 2023
LB Montrel Meander was carted off in the third quarter with an ankle injury.
From Fox News • Aug. 22, 2021
Correction: An earlier version of this story stated that in 2014, Common Cause organized the Gerrymander Meander relay race along the 3rd District’s outline.
From Washington Post • Feb. 8, 2019
The renderings on the brochure show not the high-ceilinged galleries that Zumthor’s firm calls “Chapels” but the more conventional-looking “Cabinet” galleries, along with the Meander galleries along the glass-lined perimeter of the new building.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 4, 2016
I left Comanche because I was afraid of him, but he rode post the night that I engaged passage and beat me to Meander; but he wasn’t hurrying on my account, as you know.
From Claim Number One by Ogden, George W. (George Washington)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
