wade

[weyd]

verb (used without object), wad·ed, wad·ing.

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 by through): to wade through a dull book.
Obsolete. to go or proceed.

verb (used with object), wad·ed, wad·ing.

to pass through or cross by wading; ford: to wade a stream.

noun

an act or instance of wading: We went for a wade in the shallows.

Verb Phrases

wade in/into,
1. to begin energetically.
2. to attack strongly: to wade into a thoughtless child; to wade into a mob of rioters.

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

Related formsun·wad·ed, adjectiveun·wad·ing, adjective

Synonyms for wade

4. labor, toil, plod, plow, work.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for waded

bathe, trek, splash, stumble, paddle, attempt, toil, launch, initiate, attack, drudge, tackle, labor, walk, start, ford

Examples from the Web for waded

Contemporary Examples of waded

An older white woman who had waded into the crowd, turned to the four younger women behind her.
‘They Let Him Off?’ Scenes from NYC in Disbelief
Jacob Siegel
December 4, 2014
But if Clinton waded into the natural gas debate, she entirely avoided the Keystone one.
Hillary Praises Fracking, Stays Silent on Keystone
David Freedlander
December 2, 2014
Later that month, Rivers waded into the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Joan Rivers: 'Death Is Like Plastic Surgery'
Tim Teeman
September 4, 2014
If there are no police around, you might see women who have waded into the water, fully dressed in coats, pants and headscarves.
Operation Wholesome Sea: Iran Coast Guard Forces Women Off Beaches
IranWire
May 24, 2014
He was “overcome with fear,” at which point he waded through the darkness in order to retrieve his gun from under the bed.
Oscar Pistorius’s Sobbing Fit On The Witness Stand
Kelly Berold
April 9, 2014

Historical Examples of waded

The fact is, I found all this, and worse; I waded through tons of talk to no result.
The Man Shakespeare
Frank Harris
Robin waded to shore, and the friar, half swimming and half scrambling, followed.
Maid Marian
Thomas Love Peacock
It is to be waded in the riffles, so that he can cross from one shore to the other as the mood suits him.
The Forest
Stewart Edward White
She waded forward to where the shoal ended and the deeper part began.
The Woman-Haters
Joseph C. Lincoln
He waded to the shore and strode rapidly back toward the boathouse.
The Woman-Haters
Joseph C. Lincoln

British Dictionary definitions for waded

wade

verb

to walk with the feet immersed in (water, a stream, etc)the girls waded the river at the ford
(intr often foll by through) to proceed with difficultyto wade through a book
(intr; foll by in or into) to attack energetically

noun

the act or an instance of wading

Derived Formswadable or wadeable, adjective

Word Origin for wade

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

Wade

noun

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for waded

wade

Old English wadan "to go forward, proceed," in poetic use only, except as oferwaden "wade across," from Proto-Germanic *wadan (cf. Old Norse vaða, Danish vade, Old Frisian wada, Dutch waden, Old High German watan, German waten "to wade"), from PIE root *wadh- "to go," found only in Germanic and Latin (cf. Latin vadere "to go," vadum "shoal, ford," vadare "to wade"). Italian guado, French gué "ford" are Germanic loan-words.

Specifically of walking into water from c.1200. Originally a strong verb (past tense wod, past participle wad); weak since 16c. Figurative sense of "to go into" (action, battle, etc.) is recorded from late 14c. Related: Waded; wading.