meandering

[ mee-an-der-ing ]
See synonyms for meandering on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. taking a winding or indirect course: The city of Budapest is divided into two parts by the meandering Danube River, spanned by several stunning bridges.

  2. wandering aimlessly; proceeding seemingly without direction; rambling: I'm unsure how I will condense a meandering narrative of my experiences into a thirty-second elevator pitch.Things proceed in a meandering way between them, until suddenly their relationship comes to a devastatingly emotional climax.

noun
  1. the act of wandering or proceeding aimlessly or by a winding or indirect course: I digress—but I blame it on the mental meandering of age.After a coffee and some meandering among the displays on the hotel mezzanine, I left the convention.

Origin of meandering

1
First recorded in 1610–20; meander + -ing2 for the adjective senses; meander + -ing1 for the noun sense

Other words from meandering

  • me·an·der·ing·ly, adverb
  • un·me·an·der·ing, adjective
  • un·me·an·der·ing·ly, adverb

Words Nearby meandering

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use meandering in a sentence

  • Our route next day through the narrow byways of Dorsetshire was a meandering one.

  • Of course, these caused more or less meandering, but in the end they came to a place where Tolly Tip raised a warning finger.

  • Moreover, an auxiliary stream was meandering over the table, making rapid progress towards the rose-coloured silk and white lace.

    Three Margarets | Laura E. Richards
  • Some woollens are woven simply like linen; some are wide, some very narrow, sewn together in strips, woven in meandering designs.

    Needlework As Art | Marian Alford
  • The climate demands such, since the answer can be almost anything, a meandering spreading-of-weight kind of answer.

    When Winter Comes to Main Street | Grant Martin Overton