wade

¹

[weyd]

verb (used without object)

waded, wading 

1. to walk in water, when partially immersed.

   He wasn't swimming, he was wading.

2. to play in water.

   The children were wading in the pool most of the afternoon.

3. to walk through water, snow, sand, or any other substance that impedes free motion or offers resistance to movement.

   to wade through the mud.

4. to make one's way slowly or laboriously (often followed bythrough ).

   to wade through a dull book.

   Synonyms: work, plow, plod, toil, labor

5. Obsolete.,  to go or proceed.

verb (used with object)

waded, wading 

1. to pass through or cross by wading; ford.

   to wade a stream.

noun

1. an act or instance of wading.

   We went for a wade in the shallows.

verb phrase

1. wade in / into

   1. to begin energetically.

   2. to attack strongly.

      to wade into a thoughtless child; to wade into a mob of rioters.

Wade

²

[weyd]

noun

1. Benjamin Franklin, 1800–78, U.S. lawyer and antislavery politician.

2. a male given name.

wade

¹

/ weɪd /

verb

1. to walk with the feet immersed in (water, a stream, etc)

   the girls waded the river at the ford

2. to proceed with difficulty

   to wade through a book

3. (intr; foll by in or into) to attack energetically

noun

1. the act or an instance of wading

Wade

²

/ weɪd /

noun

1. ( Sarah ) Virginia. born 1945, English tennis player; won three Grand Slam singles titles: US Open (1968), Australian Open (1972), and Wimbledon (1977)

Other Word Forms

• unwaded adjective
• unwading adjective
• wadable adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of wade¹

before 900; Middle English waden to go, wade, Old English wadan to go; cognate with German waten, Old Norse vatha; akin to Old English wæd ford, sea, Latin vadum shoal, ford, vādere to go, rush

Word History and Origins

Origin of wade¹

Old English wadan; related to Old Frisian wada, Old High German watan, Old Norse vatha, Latin vadum _ford

Example Sentences

The Hudson Valley charm was dampened by the sensation of wading through 95-degree humid soup.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

But that case did not wade directly into settlement negotiations.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

For dispensary owners, wading through government inefficiency burns precious capital.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Commuters have been seen wading through deep water to access the station over the past year, while a charity warns the area could become a "no-go zone" for disabled people.

Read more on BBC

We wade out then float farther into the surf, our progress dented a little with each passing roller.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• bathe 
• paddle 
• splash 
• stumble 
• trek