wand
Americannoun
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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.
I am not Harry Potter, and I don’t have a magic wand, but achieving this vision shouldn’t require magic — just discipline and collaboration.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 27, 2026
The trailer also teased Harry’s acceptance letter from Hogwarts and his wand and Nimbus broom.
From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2026
After 40 minutes of the technician repeatedly dragging a warm and gooey wand across my chest, I had 95 images—and enough gel on my skin to moisturize a lizard for a year.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 4, 2026
You can’t wave a magic wand and get it done.
From Salon • May 1, 2026
“You cannot stop us!” screamed Barbatos as the Gran held her wand up in their direction.
From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega
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.
