wand
Americannoun
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wands
plural
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a slender stick or rod, especially one used by a magician, conjurer, or diviner.
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a rod or staff carried as an emblem of one's office or authority.
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a slender shoot, stem, or branch of a shrub or tree.
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a small applicator for cosmetics, usually having a brush at the tip.
She applied the mascara with a wand.
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U.S. Archery. a slat 6 feet (183 centimeters) by 2 inches (5 centimeters) placed at a distance of 100 yards (91 meters) for men and 60 yards (55 meters) for women, and used as a target.
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Also called wand reader. an electronic device, in the form of a handheld rod, that can optically read coded data, as on a merchandise label or tag or the page of a book.
noun
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a slender supple stick or twig
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a thin rod carried as a symbol of authority
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a rod used by a magician, water diviner, etc
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informal a conductor's baton
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archery a marker used to show the distance at which the archer stands from the target
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a hand-held electronic device, such as a light pen or bar-code reader, which is pointed at or passed over an item to read the data stored there
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of wand
First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English, from Old Norse vǫndr; cognate with Gothic wandus
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:
“It’s not a magic wand that can make these supply issues go away,” Morningstar’s Kerwin said.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026
“Everyone, repeat after me!” the Hufflepuff called, wand pointed at the creature.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
I wish I could wave my magic wand and fix them overnight, but that is not possible.
From BBC ● May 27, 2026
The first, a portable depuffing wand from massage-gun maker Therabody.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
The Gran pulled her wand from her sleeve and pointed it at Seven.
From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega
“This next song is only a week old,” she said Saturday to introduce “Hate” — another loyalty test passed with no trouble by an audience peppered with bunny ears and Glinda wands.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026
He watched a group of students as they dipped wands into a bucket of soap and raised them to the breeze.
From Slate ● Oct. 30, 2025
They’ve sold dozens of the wands, which feature the logo of Huntr/x, for $25 to $40 apiece.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2025
Sadly, however, one of Harris’ most famous additions did not survive the owners’ renovations: his “Magic Man Cave,” where he stored his top hats and wands and performed magic tricks.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2025
A crowd of wizards, tightly packed and moving together with wands pointing straight upward, was marching slowly across the field.
From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling
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.
