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wander

[won-der]

||

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR wander ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object)

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.

to extend in an irregular course or direction: Foothills wandered off to the south.

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.

to stray from a path, place, companions, etc.: During the storm the ship wandered from its course.

to deviate in conduct, belief, etc.; err; go astray: Let me not wander from Thy Commandments.

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)

to travel about, on, or through: He wandered the streets.

noun

Mechanics. the drift of a gyroscope or a similar device.

Origin of wander

before 900; Middle English wandren, Old English wandrian (cognate with German wandern), frequentative of wendan to wend; see -er⁶

Related formswan·der·er, nounout·wan·der, verb (used with object)

Synonyms for wander

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR wander ON THESAURUS.COM

1. range, stroll. 2. saunter. 6. swerve, veer. 8. ramble, rave.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for wander

trek, traipse, ramble, stray, cruise, hike, float, drift, roam, straggle, meander, amble, saunter, stroll, veer, gad, gallivant, trail, deviate, peregrinate

Examples from the Web for wander

Contemporary Examples of wander

Finally, I have to wander slightly off brief with my last two recommendations.
Doctors Can Write More Than Prescriptions: The Best Books by Doctors
Gabriel Weston
August 14, 2014
One can even rent out the villa here or wander down from the Arc de Triomphe and peek through the fence.
Paris’s Secret Fashion Week Haunts
Liza Foreman
July 8, 2014
Of all the war-torn eras in the all the history of the world, why, Frank Miller and Zack Snyder, did you have to wander into mine?
‘300’ Is a Misleading, Muscle-Bound Travesty of Ancient History
James Romm
March 13, 2014
Guests snatch up the eccentric-looking drinks that line the bar as they wander around before the performance.
A Mad Feast Is the Next 'Sleep No More'
Nina Strochlic
February 3, 2014
In Jordan, in Kuwait, in Turkey, not even a dog could wander into Iraq, but from Der ez-Sour we went where we wanted.
The Fourth War: My Lunch with a Jihadi
Elliot Ackerman
January 21, 2014

Historical Examples of wander

Why else should they wander together in the woods, or be so lost in talk by rustic streams?
The White Company
Arthur Conan Doyle
They can wander on the banks of the Kladeos and the Alpheios.
Buried Cities, Part 2
Jennie Hall
She had to wander around and around, and get food and drink wherever she could find them.
Classic Myths
Mary Catherine Judd
You wander whither you will, meeting few, and disturbed by none.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 59, No. 364, February 1846
Various
How far is the district over which these strange Dhahs are said to wander?
The Strand Magazine, Volume V, Issue 25, January 1893
Various

British Dictionary definitions for wander

wander

verb (mainly intr)

(also tr) to move or travel about, in, or through (a place) without any definite purpose or destination

to proceed in an irregular course; meander

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

the act or an instance of wandering

Derived Formswanderer, nounwandering, adjective, nounwanderingly, adverb

Word Origin for wander

Old English wandrian; related to Old Frisian wandria, Middle Dutch, Middle High German wanderen

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for wander

v.

Old English wandrian "move about aimlessly, wander," from West Germanic *wandrojan (cf. Old Frisian wondria, Middle Low German, Middle Dutch wanderen, German wandern "to wander," a variant form of the root represented in Old High German wantalon "to walk, wander"), from root *wend- "to turn" (see wind (v.)). In reference to the mind, affections, etc., attested from c.1400. Related: Wandered; wandering. The Wandering Jew of Christian legend first mentioned 13c. (cf. French le juif errant, German der ewige Jude).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper