wander
Americanverb (used without object)
-
wanders,
present (3rd person singular)
-
wandered,
past participle, past
-
wandering
present participle
-
to ramble without a definite purpose or objective; roam, rove, or stray.
to wander over the earth.
-
to go aimlessly, indirectly, or casually; meander.
The river wanders among the rocks.
- Synonyms:
- saunter
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to extend in an irregular course or direction.
Foothills wandered off to the south.
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to move, pass, or turn idly, as the hand or the eyes.
-
(of the mind, thoughts, desires, etc.) to take one direction or another without conscious intent or control.
His attention wandered as the speaker droned on.
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to stray from a path, place, companions, etc..
During the storm the ship wandered from its course.
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to deviate in conduct, belief, etc.; err; go astray.
Let me not wander from Thy Commandments.
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to think or speak confusedly or incoherently.
-
(of a person with a mental disorder or cognitive impairment) to move about or walk in a seemingly aimless or random manner.
verb (used with object)
-
wanders,
present (3rd person singular)
-
wandered,
past participle, past
-
wandering
present participle
noun
-
wanders
plural
verb
-
(also tr) to move or travel about, in, or through (a place) without any definite purpose or destination
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to proceed in an irregular course; meander
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to go astray, as from a path or course
-
(of the mind, thoughts, etc) to lose concentration or direction
-
to think or speak incoherently or illogically
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
wandersimple
-
wanderssimple
-
have wanderedperfect
-
has wanderedperfect
-
am wanderingprogressive
-
are wanderingprogressive
-
is wanderingprogressive
-
have been wanderingperfect progressive
-
has been wanderingperfect progressive
Past
-
wanderedsimple
-
had wanderedperfect
-
was wanderingprogressive
-
were wanderingprogressive
-
had been wanderingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of wander
First recorded before 900; Middle English wandren, Old English wandrian “to wend repeatedly” (cognate with German wandern ), from wendan; see wend
Explanation
The verb wander describes something that has lost track. If you're watching a boring movie, your mind might begin to wander. If you don't have a clear goal, you could wander too — meaning you drift aimlessly. When you wander mentally, your thoughts get lost. And when you wander physically, you don't have a destination, so it's also possible to lose your bearings and not know where you are — or how to get back. That's why wander is also used to describe someone who drifts from place to place or job to job without a sense of direction or purpose.
Vocabulary lists containing wander
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"The Pedestrian" by Ray Bradbury
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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:
When the power cuts out after dark in Vientiane, families wander outside to avoid the stifling heat indoors, using cell phones to light their way.
From Barron's ● Sep. 13, 2026
The sight of the Williams sisters back on court together at the US Open - possibly for the final time - commanded ultimate respect from a chatty crowd known to let their attention wander.
From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026
The bird, however, is known to wander past its range and has been spotted as far as Iceland, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, a research and conservation institute.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
I would wander in with my perfectly sized tote, allow whatever charmed me to determine dinner and wait for the ingredients to organize themselves.
From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2026
The particular path he chooses to wander down has no obvious doors, it is only a passageway between tents, endless stripes illuminated by flickering lights.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
Chip falls in with a troupe of street performers, evades the police, juggles along the Seine and eventually wanders into a smoky bar, where Penelope is strumming her guitar.
From Salon ● Jun. 30, 2026
When your mind wanders, whether to rehearse a future argument or ruminate over what you said Friday night, you’re meant to note it, lightly and without judgment: “thinking” or “planning.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
At 100, Attenborough no longer wanders the world's jungles and deserts.
From Barron's ● May 6, 2026
It can stay still for hours, striking only when prey wanders too close.
From BBC ● Mar. 25, 2026
Instead, he wanders through pathways and concourses and walks in loops around the courtyard with Marco in tow, who is taking notes whenever Chandresh finds something to comment upon.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
One of the earliest deaths came in 1926, when a 3-year-old wandered from his home on Narragansett Avenue and fell to his demise.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
The cross-Cabinet pet diplomacy apparently goes both ways: The Rubios’ goldendoodle has wandered into the Hegseth home.
From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026
Two clients wandered into Luis Fonseca’s tiny barbershop.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
But in the three hacks the company eventually discovered, Claude didn’t break out of a sandbox; it simply wandered out of systems where the sandbox didn’t exist.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
As usual I wandered through the aisles, looking at all the things I wished I could buy.
From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney
In video clips, Dion is seen wandering in a desert.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
Wendy the coyote was a fixture in the San Fernando Valley community for years, often spotted wandering around the neighborhood or curling up to sunbathe in a patch of grass, he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
Many of the AI generated images have been centred on the Irish counties of Limerick and Wexford, where shaky videos purportedly showed the character wandering through the streets, causing alarm and confusion among residents.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
The wandering sheriff is confident enough not to be strident, wise enough to maintain order as best he can, and savvy enough to read other people, which keeps him alert.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
He was an Usher of wandering souls, a servant to the all-knowing Afterlife, and although he was not in Deadwood, he did carry some authority, didn’t he?
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
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.
