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

It also shows that evolution rarely follows a straight path, instead meandering through the ever-changing conditions on our planet.

From Science Daily • May 21, 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

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

Since then, the 79-year-old Republican has rarely missed an opportunity to discuss the project, frequently meandering in mid-speech on other topics to riff about the architectural details of the proposed facility.

From Barron's • Mar. 31, 2026

The basement was a meandering complex of rooms so lightless I may as well have explored them blindfolded.

From "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs