wallow
Americanverb (used without object)
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to roll about or lie in water, snow, mud, dust, or the like, as for refreshment.
Goats wallowed in the dust.
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to live self-indulgently; luxuriate; revel.
to wallow in luxury; to wallow in sentimentality.
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to flounder about; move along or proceed clumsily or with difficulty.
A gunboat wallowed toward port.
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to surge up or billow forth, as smoke or heat.
Waves of black smoke wallowed into the room.
noun
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an act or instance of wallowing.
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a place in which animals wallow.
hog wallow; an elephant wallow.
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the indentation produced by animals wallowing.
a series of wallows across the farmyard.
verb
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(esp of certain animals) to roll about in mud, water, etc, for pleasure
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to move about with difficulty
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to indulge oneself in possessions, emotion, etc
to wallow in self-pity
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(of smoke, waves, etc) to billow
noun
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the act or an instance of wallowing
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a muddy place or depression where animals wallow
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of wallow
before 900; Middle English walwe, Old English wealwian to roll; cognate with Gothic walwjan; akin to Latin volvere
Explanation
To wallow is to roll about in something, as a pig wallows in mud or a billionaire wallows in money. Wallow can be used to describe a physical action or an emotional state. If you cry "Woe is me!" one too many times, you might be accused of wallowing in self-pity. Because of its association with the much-maligned pig, wallow often has a negative, insulting tone. So, rather than wallowing in that pile of money once you've won the lottery, try bathing or wading in it instead.
Vocabulary lists containing wallow
List 5
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Rap Lyrics
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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
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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.
Having lost their World Cup play-off semi-finals against Bosnia-Herzegovina and Italy respectively five days earlier, given the choice, Wales and Northern Ireland would probably have had the night off to wallow.
From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026
She ponders whether its home on Disney+ will mean it gets a big audience, adding: "But let's just wallow in nostalgia."
From BBC • Feb. 4, 2026
The actors wallow in the interstices of the dialogue.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 24, 2025
Don’t mistake this stylish feature debut for a misery wallow, however, or some poetic character study.
From Los Angeles Times • May 23, 2025
It’s hard to stay grumpy around Teddy, and I don’t have time to wallow about shin splints for the time being because keeping up with him takes every bit of my energy.
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
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.
