wander meaning and definition

WANDER verb

Definition of wander (verb)

1. move about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment
   • "The gypsies roamed the woods"; "roving vagabonds"; "the wandering Jew"; "The cattle roam across the prairie"; "the laborers drift from one town to the next"; "They rolled from town to town"
   • synonyms: cast, drift, ramble, range, roam, roll, rove, stray, swan, tramp, vagabond
2. be sexually unfaithful to one's partner in marriage
   • "She cheats on her husband"; "Might her husband be wandering?"
   • synonyms: betray, cheat, cheat on, cuckold
3. go via an indirect route or at no set pace
   • "After dinner, we wandered into town"
4. to move or cause to move in a sinuous, spiral, or circular course
   • "the river winds through the hills"; "the path meanders through the vineyards"; "sometimes, the gout wanders through the entire body"
   • synonyms: meander, thread, weave, wind
5. lose clarity or turn aside especially from the main subject of attention or course of argument in writing, thinking, or speaking
   • "She always digresses when telling a story"; "her mind wanders"; "Don't digress when you give a lecture"
   • synonyms: digress, divagate, stray