meandering

[mee-an-der-ing]

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

• meanderingly adverb
• unmeandering adjective
• unmeanderingly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of meandering¹

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

They say that global warming is making these currents increasingly "wavier", which means it's meandering and not following a steady path.

From BBC

Jasmine Joyce-Butchers injected some much needed fire into Welsh bellies with a meandering 40m break, but Scotland scrambled well and won a timely turnover.

From BBC

The party was in a meandering warehouse converted to an intergalactic space station.

From Los Angeles Times

They dig deep and meandering tunnels - and hew out rocks to sell to mostly Chinese buyers, who then extract copper.

From BBC

Anyway, all that meandering my family did through the Central Valley was very important to me.

From Los Angeles Times