Showing results for "meandering"

• present participle of meander.

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.

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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

• unmeandering
  adjective
• meanderingly
  adverb
• unmeanderingly
  adverb

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

"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

Condos, like other properties, shot up in value earlier in the pandemic but have been moving sideways in L.A. for the last two years, with the median price meandering around $700,000 for a two-bedroom condominium.

From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2026

The Red Sox, meanwhile, are meandering at 11-17 entering Monday night’s game versus Toronto, currently stuck at the bottom of the menu in the American League.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 27, 2026

There's a lot of flakiness in their make-up, possibly too many players spending too much time meandering through games.

From BBC • Apr. 27, 2026

There were always two or three meandering speeches, and all of them seemed written by the same verbose, insincere person.

From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie