wandering

American  

[won-der-ing] / ˈwɒn dər ɪŋ /

adjective

1. moving from place to place without a fixed plan; roaming; rambling.

   Crowds of wandering tourists crossed the square.

2. having no permanent residence; nomadic.

   They were historically a wandering people, moving seasonally through the area.

3. meandering; winding.

   They followed a wandering path down the mountain.

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noun

1. an aimless roving about; leisurely traveling from place to place.

   For our honeymoon we had a period of delightful wandering through Italy.

2. Usually wanderings.

   1. aimless travels; meanderings.

      Her wanderings took her all over the world.

   2. disordered thoughts or utterances; incoherencies.

      mental wanderings;

      the wanderings of delirium.

3. seemingly aimless or random movement from one place to another by a person with a mental or cognitive disability or impairment.

   Wandering by Alzheimer’s patients is a problem in nursing homes.

Other Word Forms

• unwandering adjective
• unwanderingly adverb
• wanderingly adverb
• wanderingness noun

Etymology

Origin of wandering

First recorded before 1000; Middle English (noun, adjective), Old English wandrigende (adjective); wander ( def. ), -ing ² ( def. ), -ing ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

Fern had been spotted wandering around for weeks, probably foraging for food, but no-one could get near.

From BBC

The author’s encouraging guidance notwithstanding, I still occasionally found my mind wandering.

From The Wall Street Journal

Children sit in wide shopping carts, pushed by parents wandering through the high-ceilinged aisles in search of deals on eggs, bread and rib-eye steak.

From The Wall Street Journal

Foreign visitors, mostly young, are seen daily wandering through gentrified neighborhoods gazing at their cellphones, following directions to the latest hip spots hyped on Instagram and TikTok.

From Los Angeles Times

We had tea at the Huntington before wandering through its gardens and buying each other kitschy socks at the gift shop.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• meandering
• nomadic
• roving