wallow
Americanverb (used without object)
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wallows,
present (3rd person singular)
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wallowed,
past participle, past
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wallowing
present participle
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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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wallows
plural
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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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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wallowsimple
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wallowssimple
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have wallowedperfect
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has wallowedperfect
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am wallowingprogressive
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are wallowingprogressive
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is wallowingprogressive
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have been wallowingperfect progressive
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has been wallowingperfect progressive
Past
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wallowedsimple
-
had wallowedperfect
-
was wallowingprogressive
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were wallowingprogressive
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had been wallowingperfect progressive
Future
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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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.
See Examples For:
When I think about Mexico, I don’t wallow in memories involving Montezuma and his gastrointestinal revenge.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
I wonder if the reaction to the book is less about Burden’s marriage and more an excuse to wallow in our own perceived lack of agency.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 2026
“But you can’t wallow in grief while you’re actively caregiving. I’d never get anything done. You soldier on.”
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 16, 2026
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
Slowly, like a great sow pulling out of a wallow, Mrs. Lapham got to her feet, glaring down at Johnny, her enormous bosom heaving.
From "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Hoskins Forbes
It wallows in angst and stress but has no psychological depth, sticking to bromides like “You’re special” and “Be yourself.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
Ryan Murphy’s ‘All’s Fair,’ which wallows in revenge-fueled and wealth-worshipping cynicism with reality star Kim Kardashian at the center, may be terrible, but it captures an unfortunate moment in American culture.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 10, 2025
While the bison do help keep back some of the invasive grasses, Dennhardt explains that they create wallows and cause erosion.
From National Geographic ● Jan. 18, 2024
Large herbivores such as Cape buffalo and red deer make temporary pools by creating wallows, which also interrupt wildfires.
From Scientific American ● Sep. 9, 2023
They cool off in those muddy wallows, leaving the marks of their hoofprints.
From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan
The euro wallowed near its five-week low at $1.0876, down 0.6% for the week, while the risk sensitive Australian dollar broke a key support level overnight and was last at $0.6417.
From Reuters ● Aug. 18, 2023
Jordan and his cronies have wallowed in both.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 12, 2023
We wallowed in the joy and nearly fell over trying to pull them apart.
From Salon ● Dec. 4, 2022
Streep and Corden wallowed in Broadway cliches, sometimes deliciously, every now and again riotously, but rarely if ever with truthful originality.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2022
He wallowed in choking blackness, he couldn’t see, couldn’t think.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
A former Biden Cabinet secretary, state attorney general and longtime congressman from Los Angeles, Becerra had been wallowing in the low single-digits in public opinion polls less than three months ago.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026
Mr. Nézet-Séguin found the score’s oceanic qualities without wallowing in them, holding to its throughline even in the most fervid passages, and making the mood changes between the acts and within them clear.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 11, 2026
Of course, some anger and frustration will come out during these talks, but long-term wallowing and ruminating on perceived unfairness can be more damaging than the layoff itself.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 2, 2026
But the ILO warned that efforts to improve global job quality had stagnated, leaving hundreds of millions of workers wallowing in poverty, even as trade uncertainty risked cutting into workers wages.
From Barron's ● Jan. 14, 2026
While I was wallowing around on the floor of that cellar, thinking only of myself, he was here, thinking only of me.
From "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins
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.
