wade
verb (used without object)
to walk in water, when partially immersed.
wade
1 American
[weyd]
/ weɪd /
verb (used without object)
-
wades,
present (3rd person singular)
-
waded,
past participle, past
-
wading
present participle
-
to walk in water, when partially immersed.
He wasn't swimming, he was wading.
-
to play in water.
The children were wading in the pool most of the afternoon.
-
to walk through water, snow, sand, or any other substance that impedes free motion or offers resistance to movement.
to wade through the mud.
-
to make one's way slowly or laboriously (often followed bythrough ).
to wade through a dull book.
-
Obsolete. to go or proceed.
verb (used with object)
-
wades,
present (3rd person singular)
-
waded,
past participle, past
-
wading
present participle
noun
verb phrase
Wade
2
American
[weyd]
/ weɪd /
noun
-
Benjamin Franklin, 1800–78, U.S. lawyer and antislavery politician.
-
a male given name.
wade
1
British
/ weɪd /
verb
-
to walk with the feet immersed in (water, a stream, etc)
the girls waded the river at the ford
-
to proceed with difficulty
to wade through a book
-
(intr; foll by in or into) to attack energetically
noun
Wade
2
British
/ weɪd /
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
wadesimple
-
wadessimple
-
have wadedperfect
-
has wadedperfect
-
am wadingprogressive
-
are wadingprogressive
-
is wadingprogressive
-
have been wadingperfect progressive
-
has been wadingperfect progressive
Past
-
wadedsimple
-
had wadedperfect
-
was wadingprogressive
-
were wadingprogressive
-
had been wadingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of wade
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
Explanation
To wade is to walk through water. If you've been fishing without a boat, you'll have to wade to reach your precious prize (if it gets away, you can brag about how big it was). When you wade, it doesn't have to literally be through a liquid; wading includes any action that involves a laborious slog through something that offers resistance. For example, you might attempt to wade through a huge book like Moby Dick. And if you want to get into a fight? Wade right on into the brawling crowd. Or if it's verbal fisticuffs you're after, wade right on in to the debate.
Vocabulary lists containing wade
Vocabulary from Beyoncé's "Lemonade"
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"The Hill We Climb," by Amanda Gorman
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100 SAT words Beginning with W,X,Y, and Z
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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:
Fishermen say they now need to wade into the water to walk along the coast.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
Quite a few religions were considered cults in the beginning, Christianity among them, so it does make some sense not to wade too deeply into the finer distinctions.
From Salon ● Jun. 25, 2026
But here at MarketWatch, we wade through these things so you don’t have to.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 17, 2026
She opened up about the latest body-shaming abuse in an Instagram post on Thursday, saying she felt she needed to "wade in and speak for myself".
From BBC ● May 29, 2026
Frequently, the people on the west bank would have to leave their cars along the shoulder of the highway and try to wade across the raging creek just to get to their homes.
From "100 Sideways Miles" by Andrew Smith
Angie Wade, the tribal historic preservation officer for Chickaloon Village, one of the tribes involved in the lawsuit against the mine, said rampant mining has devastated Chickaloon areas in decades past.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
The crowd waved signs and cheered again as Wade Crowfoot, California’s secretary for natural resources, stepped up to speak.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
But Wade advises holding off and waiting until you get your results before you open the Ucas website.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
For those who are unsure about their course choice and want to change, Wade says it is important to talk to a trusted adviser first, like a family member or teacher.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
He was randomly paired with Max Wade, and they played against Aidan and Luke.
From "Millionaires for the Month" by Stacey McAnulty
“Toy Story 5” stays closer to home but wades into new territory: the explosion of tech in everyday life.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026
The RSS also wades into economic and foreign policy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2025
Keith, her husband, wades in: "I'm looking at what's left of my kitchen."
From BBC ● Jan. 11, 2025
Even when he did write political songs, Bob never wades into the specifics other than “The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll,” where he’s literally telling the story of some tragedy, he most often sings obliquely.
From Salon ● Dec. 25, 2024
The bird stands in the shallows, pecking at the water, then wades deeper and starts splashing around.
From "All The Bright Places" by Jennifer Niven
It was derived from the people who waded across Texas’ Rio Grande into the U.S., but it was sometimes used interchangeably with any Latino workers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
As they waded into the calm shallows of the Channel, their "taxi boat" came into view.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
She did this countless times across her decades of unwavering support for the queer community, softening and sharpening her humor according to the severity of whatever topic she waded into.
From Salon ● Aug. 28, 2026
Nine hours and 57 minutes after entering the water, the American swimmer waded ashore in France, having broken the world record for the fastest crossing at the age of 15.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
Neel’s feet touched bottom again and he waded to the bank.
From "Tiger Boy" by Mitali Perkins
Make no mistake: America’s biggest theater chain wading into the indie film distribution business is a bold, risky move that suggests a dedication to both the art of cinema and the curious moviegoer.
From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2026
Photographs shared by the disaster office showed workers wading through churned mud and navigating vast boulders left by the floods.
From Barron's ● Aug. 30, 2026
"Baptism of fire" is the Observer's headline, accompanied with a picture of a man wading into the ocean as smoke billows from the wildfires in the distance.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
Now, they are wading back in with a focus on big growth areas like multifamily housing and industrial real estate, which is being fueled by a boom in big data-center projects.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
“I hope they went wading in the brook,” Theodora said.
From "The Haunting of Hill House" by Shirley Jackson
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.
