wallow
Americanverb (used without object)
-
to roll about or lie in water, snow, mud, dust, or the like, as for refreshment.
Goats wallowed in the dust.
-
to live self-indulgently; luxuriate; revel.
to wallow in luxury; to wallow in sentimentality.
-
to flounder about; move along or proceed clumsily or with difficulty.
A gunboat wallowed toward port.
-
to surge up or billow forth, as smoke or heat.
Waves of black smoke wallowed into the room.
noun
-
an act or instance of wallowing.
-
a place in which animals wallow.
hog wallow; an elephant wallow.
-
the indentation produced by animals wallowing.
a series of wallows across the farmyard.
verb
-
(esp of certain animals) to roll about in mud, water, etc, for pleasure
-
to move about with difficulty
-
to indulge oneself in possessions, emotion, etc
to wallow in self-pity
-
(of smoke, waves, etc) to billow
noun
-
the act or an instance of wallowing
-
a muddy place or depression where animals wallow
Other Word Forms
- wallower noun
Etymology
Origin of wallow
before 900; Middle English walwe, Old English wealwian to roll; cognate with Gothic walwjan; akin to Latin volvere
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.
But I didn’t have a job to go to, and after wallowing in my own sweat for what seemed like hours, I pulled Paul’s crumbled comedy class ticket out of my jacket pocket.
From Salon
Results are decent, and there is a rising cash balance, but the stock price is wallowing at less than half its 2007 high.
From Barron's
I remember mourning Grandma’s passing, wallowing in my sadness, only to come to Asamando and meet Ama—and to have her claim to be Grandma.
From Literature
Yet hearing news of others’ deliveries left me wallowing in a puddle of jealousy.
It's a return to the cheeky good humour he's known for - because, Sam being Sam, he'd rather count his blessings than wallow in his feelings.
From BBC
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.
