Meaning & use
wander
Last updated
Meanings
verbintransitive
To walk slowly around a place without a clear destination or purpose.
Grammar: Usually followed by a place word: wander around, wander through.
Patterns
- wander around somewhere
- wander through something
- wander off
We wandered through the old town until sunset.
The toddler wandered off while his mother was talking.
He likes to wander along the beach in the morning.
verbintransitivefigurative
To drift away from the topic, or let your mind or attention move to other things.
Grammar: Subject is usually a mind, thoughts or eyes: her mind wandered.
Patterns
- something wanders off topic
- your mind wanders
My mind wandered during the long lecture.
His eyes wandered to the clock again.
The conversation wandered from politics to cooking.
verbintransitiveliterary
To pass through or cover an area, especially a path, a river or a road that curves without a straight line.
Grammar: Subject is a path or river: the stream wanders.
Patterns
- wander through something
The river wanders through the valley.
A narrow path wanders up the hillside.
The road wandered between low stone walls.
nounsingularinformal
A slow, relaxed walk with no particular goal.
Grammar: Usually singular with a: take a wander.
Patterns
- have a wander
- a wander around somewhere
We had a wander round the market after lunch.
She went for a wander along the river.
Let us take a wander through the park.
Word forms
| third person singular | wanders |
|---|---|
| past tense | wandered |
| past participle | wandered |
| -ing form | wandering |
| plural | wanders |
Common combinations
- wander off
- Do not let the children wander off in the crowd.
- wander aimlessly
- He wandered aimlessly through the empty streets.
- mind wanders
- Her mind wanders when she is tired.
- wander around
- They wandered around the museum for hours.
- wander through
- We wandered through the gardens before dinner.
- wander the streets
- He wandered the streets of Rome with a camera.
Synonyms and how they differ
- stroll
- Stroll suggests a pleasant, relaxed walk, whereas wander suggests having no clear direction.
- roam
- Roam covers a wider area and often longer distances than wander.
- stray
- Stray implies moving away from where you should be, where wander can be harmless.
- drift
- Drift suggests being carried along without effort or choice, but wander can be deliberate.
Opposites
Word family
- wanderer noun
- a person who travels without a fixed goal
- wandering adjective
- moving or going from place to place
- wanderlust noun
- a strong desire to travel
- wanderings noun
- journeys without a fixed plan
Commonly confused: wander or wonder? wander or wend?
wander vs wonder
Wonder means to think curiously about something or to feel amazement, and it is spelled and pronounced differently from wander.
wander vs wend
Wend means to go slowly along a path, and is usually used in the phrase wend your way.
Practice
The lecture was so long that my mind began to ___.
Choose one answer.
Mind wanders is the usual phrase for attention drifting away. Wonder sounds similar but means to ask yourself something.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “wander”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.