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.
-
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
-
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:
It can feel luxurious to wander a pharmacy where toiletries aren’t locked behind glass, a simple convenience many Americans no longer have.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
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
Visitors are advised to not wander far from the heavily policed capital.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 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’re going to wander on our own too,” Georgie said to the group, but her eyes were focused only on Michelle.
From "Millionaires for the Month" by Stacey McAnulty
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 narrative wanders through exuberant wordplay and digressions that can become distracting.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 27, 2026
What if she wanders off and gets caught by the game wardens?
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
But in the three hacks the company eventually discovered, Claude didn’t break out of a sandbox; it simply wandered out of systems where the sandbox didn’t exist.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
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
Thirsty international sports fans gathered for pictures outside different Erewhons, wandered their aisles smiling, and, of course, picked up pricey smoothies.
From Los Angeles Times ● 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 Shareefs wandered out back and stood with Roz.
From "The Wild Robot Escapes" by Peter Brown
The young mountain lion was spotted wandering along Foothill Boulevard between San Dimas Avenue and San Dimas Canyon Road in the morning, according to the San Dimas Sheriff’s Station.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 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
Murphy was first spotted living beneath a bush before wandering into the car park of The Old Windmill pub in the city centre, "rake thin" and in need of care.
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026
Only three months later, it identified the event that led them to the wandering black hole.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 6, 2026
Marlene came wandering in after them, and wasted no time at all, before reaching up with her trunk, tugging at the hay, and stuffing it into her mouth.
From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo
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.
