wand

American  

[wond] / wɒnd /

noun

1. a slender stick or rod, especially one used by a magician, conjurer, or diviner.

2. a rod or staff carried as an emblem of one's office or authority.

3. a slender shoot, stem, or branch of a shrub or tree.

4. a small applicator for cosmetics, usually having a brush at the tip.

   She applied the mascara with a wand.

5. 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.

6. 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.

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wand British  

/ wɒnd /

noun

1. a slender supple stick or twig

2. a thin rod carried as a symbol of authority

3. a rod used by a magician, water diviner, etc

4. informal a conductor's baton

5. archery a marker used to show the distance at which the archer stands from the target

6. 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

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Other Word Forms

• wandlike adjective

Etymology

Origin of wand

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English, from Old Norse vǫndr; cognate with Gothic wandus

Example Sentences

With a wave of her wand and a few magic words, Evie disappears under the snow-covered ground outside her family’s home and is transported to a stunning underwater cosmos.

From The Wall Street Journal

Earlier this month, the Welsh government said it would be building on a protocol already in place in Cardiff where all schools had been issued with search wands.

From BBC

He added: "I haven't got a magic wand. Things don't always happen immediately, but it will happen."

From BBC

He had assumed that people from the islands would look different: wizard hats, perhaps; wands at the very least.

From Literature

Add in a bubble-covered crown and earrings, plus a shiny prop wand?

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• baton