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Showing results for "meandering"
Synonyms

meandering

American  
[mee-an-der-ing] / miˈæn dər ɪŋ /

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.

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of meandering

First recorded in 1610–20; meander ( def. ) + -ing 2 ( def. ) for the adjective senses; meander ( def. ) + -ing 1 ( def. ) for the noun sense

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.

See Examples For:

Her one-year appointment as a visiting professor at a college in rural Greensbury, Vt., sets “Country People” in pleasantly meandering motion.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 28, 2026

Aged 10, he was introduced to the idea of spending several days on a narrowboat meandering through the countryside at a top speed of 4mph.

From BBC Jul. 2, 2026

"Kank lived in a landscape of meandering rivers and streams with seasonal ponds, inhabited by aquatic plants such as water lilies and animals including fish, insects, and various molluscs," says Dr. Motta.

From Science Daily May 29, 2026

Demographics for Unusual Tuesday range from late teens to septuagenarians, mingling and meandering as they await the start of the show.

From Los Angeles Times May 18, 2026

Rural Route 2 was dotted with pickup trucks meandering toward the towns of Snapfinger and Halleluia, Bay Springs and Puckett.

From Each Little Bird That Sings by Deborah Wiles

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