wander
wandering; wandered; wanders
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.
Definitions of wander
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move or cause to move in a sinuous, spiral, or circular course
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go via an indirect route or at no set pace“After dinner, we wandered into town”
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Synonyms:
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cast, drift, ramble, range, roam, roll, rove, stray, swan, tramp, vagabond
move about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment
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meander, thread, weave, wind
move or cause to move in a sinuous, spiral, or circular course
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type of:
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continue, go forward, proceed
move ahead; travel onward in time or space
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cast, drift, ramble, range, roam, roll, rove, stray, swan, tramp, vagabond
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move about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment
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lose clarity or turn aside especially from the main subject of attention or course of argument in writing, thinking, or speaking
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be sexually unfaithful to one's partner in marriage
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘wander'.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
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