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.
Seeing the new meander on the farmland is a big moment, he said, adding "it's nice to give something back".
From BBC • Jul. 1, 2026
"Especially species that rely on more natural gravels and variation within the channel - that's the benefit of the meander."
From BBC • Jul. 1, 2026
The novels meander discursively through time, so it does not matter where one begins.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 23, 2025
Kids stay up late, ice cream becomes a food group and people are out and about, undergirded by an unspoken permission to meander through the days.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 14, 2024
Well, as I am on my meander home from that last Forum meeting, of which the topic was “Popularity versus Principles,” I am in a philosophical frame of thinking.
From "The Misfits" by James Howe
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.
