wanderlust
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of wanderlust
First recorded in 1850–55; from German, from wander(n) “to wander” ( see wander) + Lust “desire” ( see lust)
Explanation
A strong desire to travel is called wanderlust. If you dream of backpacking through Europe and then taking a quick spin through southeast Asia, you have wanderlust. The Germans call the strong urge for travel wanderlust, literally a desire for wandering. We loved the German efficiency of the word so much we annexed it for our own language. With a word like lust inside it, wanderlust really captures the dreamy passion travelers all share. Sometimes the word is also used for people who can't make a commitment to a job or a relationship.
Vocabulary lists containing wanderlust
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He draws on the photographer’s diaries and autobiography to portray his subject as a gentle-souled adventurer, driven into a peripatetic life by wanderlust and financial necessity.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 7, 2025
Before, the wanderlust was overtaking my desire to be in one place.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 4, 2025
It encouraged wanderlust as Sal and Dean traveled across the country, indulging in their freedoms and desires with almost reckless abandon.
From Salon • Jul. 30, 2025
Watts's main advice for readers with a similar wanderlust is to consider travelling further afield.
From BBC • Apr. 19, 2025
Zeitoun had gone on to work on ships without Ahmad, too, seeing most of the world in a ten-year period of wanderlust that eventually brought him to New Orleans and to his life with Kathy.
From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers
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.
