wander
Americanverb (used without object)
-
wanders,
present (3rd person singular)
-
wandered,
past participle, past
-
wandering
present participle
-
to ramble without a definite purpose or objective; roam, rove, or stray.
to wander over the earth.
-
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.
-
(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.
-
(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)
-
wanders,
present (3rd person singular)
-
wandered,
past participle, past
-
wandering
present participle
noun
-
wanders
plural
verb
-
(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
-
(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
-
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:
I would wander in with my perfectly sized tote, allow whatever charmed me to determine dinner and wait for the ingredients to organize themselves.
From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2026
Remember how Roger Clemens used to wander back to baseball after letting the rest of those suckers suffer through spring training and the early schedule?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
Most of Aviv’s characters wander through life uneasily, plagued by misdiagnosed, undiagnosable or undertreated maladies.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
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
We wander down a side street until I notice a jet-black tent with a faded sign out front.
From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston
As disturbing is what becomes of the narrator himself, who seems nearly comatose as he wanders the streets of Jerusalem in an endless search for the still-missing Gavriel.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
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
It can stay still for hours, striking only when prey wanders too close.
From BBC ● Mar. 25, 2026
“Then I realized that Alice is boring. She just wanders around whining about everything.”
From "A Boy Called Bat" by Elana K. Arnold
The discovery began with an exceptionally bright flare produced when a star wandered too close to a massive black hole and was ripped apart by its intense gravity.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 28, 2026
On June 8, the roughly two-dozen people who showed up for the auction wandered around the outside of the house as best they could.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
The three wandered downtown Culver City, seemingly unsure of where to go.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2026
But when the kick-off was delayed from 01:00 to 02:00, Merry said her husband wandered off for a nap.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026
Xiang Xiang wandered out, looked around for a moment—bemused? confused?—and then scampered off into the woods.
From "Camp Panda" by Catherine Thimmesh
Mornings at Dollywood were spent wandering the now-relocated bald eagle sanctuary and crafting village, afternoons were spent riding black bears, coasters and log flumes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
Many of the AI generated images have been centred on the Irish counties of Limerick and Wexford, where shaky videos purportedly showed the character wandering through the streets, causing alarm and confusion among residents.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
But that wouldn’t be much of a movie, so the family spends nearly the entire saga wandering around the neighborhood, looking for the dog and finding mayhem.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
The wandering sheriff is confident enough not to be strident, wise enough to maintain order as best he can, and savvy enough to read other people, which keeps him alert.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
“What isssssss it?” the other snakes cried, gazes darting all around, and Clare realized they couldn’t see Gingersnipes, the wandering soul visible only to him.
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.
