Meaning & use
wander about
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Meanings
verbphrasal verb
To walk from place to place in a relaxed way, without a fixed route or a clear goal.
Grammar: No object; a place can follow: wander about the house, not wander about the house something.
Patterns
- wander about
- wander about somewhere
After lunch we wandered about the old town, peeking into shops.
The kids wander about the garden for hours in summer.
I found him wandering about the station with no idea which platform he needed.
verbphrasal verbfigurative
To let your thoughts or attention drift from one subject to another instead of staying focused.
Grammar: No object; the subject is usually a mind or thoughts: my mind wanders about.
Patterns
- someone's mind wanders about
During the long lecture my mind began to wander about, mostly to dinner.
Her thoughts wandered about between work and the holiday she was planning.
Word forms
| third person singular | wanders about |
|---|---|
| past tense | wandered about |
| past participle | wandered about |
| -ing form | wandering about |
Common combinations
- wander about aimlessly
- He wandered about aimlessly until the shops opened.
- wander about the streets
- We wandered about the streets of Lisbon until dark.
- wander about freely
- The hens wander about freely in the yard.
- wander about in the dark
- Don't wander about in the dark near the cliff.
- wander about the house
- She likes to wander about the house in her slippers.
Synonyms and how they differ
- stroll
- Stroll suggests a pleasant, unhurried walk and sounds more purposeful and cheerful than wander about, which can imply having nowhere to go.
- roam
- Roam suggests covering a wide area and often sounds freer or more adventurous than wander about.
- ramble
- Ramble usually means a long countryside walk for pleasure, whereas wander about can happen anywhere, even indoors.
- meander
- Meander stresses a winding, indirect path and is less casual in tone than wander about.
Opposites
Word family
- wander verb
- to walk without a fixed aim
- wanderer noun
- a person who travels from place to place
- wandering adjective
- moving from place to place
- wanderlust noun
- a strong desire to travel
Commonly confused: wander about or wonder about?
wander about vs wonder about
Wonder about means to think curiously about something. Wander about is about moving on foot, and the vowel sound is different.
Practice
The toddler kept ___ the living room, picking things up and putting them down.
Choose one answer.
Wandering about means moving around without a plan. Wondering about means thinking curiously, which does not fit the picking up of objects.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “wander about”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.