wander
Americanverb (used without object)
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to ramble without a definite purpose or objective; roam, rove, or stray.
to wander over the earth.
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to go aimlessly, indirectly, or casually; meander.
The river wanders among the rocks.
- Synonyms:
- saunter
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to extend in an irregular course or direction.
Foothills wandered off to the south.
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to move, pass, or turn idly, as the hand or the eyes.
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(of the mind, thoughts, desires, etc.) to take one direction or another without conscious intent or control.
His attention wandered as the speaker droned on.
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to stray from a path, place, companions, etc..
During the storm the ship wandered from its course.
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to deviate in conduct, belief, etc.; err; go astray.
Let me not wander from Thy Commandments.
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to think or speak confusedly or incoherently.
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(of a person with a mental disorder or cognitive impairment) to move about or walk in a seemingly aimless or random manner.
verb (used with object)
noun
verb
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(also tr) to move or travel about, in, or through (a place) without any definite purpose or destination
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to proceed in an irregular course; meander
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to go astray, as from a path or course
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(of the mind, thoughts, etc) to lose concentration or direction
-
to think or speak incoherently or illogically
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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wandersimple
-
wanderssimple
-
have wanderedperfect
-
has wanderedperfect
-
am wanderingprogressive
-
are wanderingprogressive
-
is wanderingprogressive
-
have been wanderingperfect progressive
-
has been wanderingperfect progressive
Past
-
wanderedsimple
-
had wanderedperfect
-
was wanderingprogressive
-
were wanderingprogressive
-
had been wanderingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of wander
First recorded before 900; Middle English wandren, Old English wandrian “to wend repeatedly” (cognate with German wandern ), from wendan; see wend
Explanation
The verb wander describes something that has lost track. If you're watching a boring movie, your mind might begin to wander. If you don't have a clear goal, you could wander too — meaning you drift aimlessly. When you wander mentally, your thoughts get lost. And when you wander physically, you don't have a destination, so it's also possible to lose your bearings and not know where you are — or how to get back. That's why wander is also used to describe someone who drifts from place to place or job to job without a sense of direction or purpose.
Vocabulary lists containing wander
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"The Pedestrian" by Ray Bradbury
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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:
They wander among the houses -- painted mostly in shades of white, yellow or brown -- and go biking or hiking in the surrounding hills of central Slovakia.
From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026
Wildlife experts say human-bear conflicts are the result of people moving deeper into the wildlands, and that bears that wander into neighborhoods are often harmless and easy to frighten.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026
Quiet areas that are always taken, leaving people to wander whenever they need to take a call.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 14, 2026
When errant, injured, or wildfire-hurt bears or mountain lions wander into Tahoe communities, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife rescues the animals and determines if they can be released back into the wild.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 1, 2026
As we wander through the market, we finally come across a farmer selling beautiful purple eggplants.
From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar
Chip falls in with a troupe of street performers, evades the police, juggles along the Seine and eventually wanders into a smoky bar, where Penelope is strumming her guitar.
From Salon ● Jun. 30, 2026
At 100, Attenborough no longer wanders the world's jungles and deserts.
From Barron's ● May 6, 2026
As she makes haste to finish her shopping, a young man wanders past clutching a small glass bottle of a green spread.
From BBC ● Apr. 23, 2026
The film soon becomes a kaleidoscope of passing characters, as Jay’s travels bring him into contact with all sorts of people and his mind wanders back to remember those from his past.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 14, 2025
She wanders toward the little market close to the tracks, the Fish Place, and I try to follow without looking like I’m following.
From "The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron
Djokovic probably could have wandered into Taylor Swift’s basketball court wedding and nobody would have flinched.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026
At various points while watching “Louis C.K.: Ridiculous,” my mind wandered back to the many times such kamikaze socializing missions were thrust upon me when I was a kid.
From Salon ● Jul. 3, 2026
The more casual fairgoers wandered by the stage without stopping.
From Slate ● Jul. 1, 2026
"I had a van, I used to sleep in the back of the van, wandered through Ireland, never had any money, just was living from day to day."
From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026
Sam went outside and wandered across the yard to visit the Krupniks' next-door neighbor.
From "All About Sam" by Lois Lowry
Monger said she loves the contrast of seeing people wandering around dressed as Darth Vader in the Lancashire seaside town.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
So some visitors may actually "relieve themselves in someone's garden", said Ondrik, who occasionally finds a tourist wandering into his own house.
From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026
The biographical details may come from the author’s grandfather, but the character seems decidedly larger-than-life, a cross between Bruce Wayne, a Japanese ronin and an archetypal wandering Jew.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
The positioning remained impressively accurate, without the blind spots or wandering location dots that often plague consumer pet trackers.
From Slate ● Jun. 20, 2026
“Yes. Well, not always. There is Captain, a good, if quiet, friend. And then of course there are the wandering souls, who—” A realization walloped Clare, stopping him mid-thought.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
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.
