wander

wan·der  (wndr)

v. wan·dered, wan·der·ing, wan·ders

v.intr.

1. To move about without a definite destination or purpose.

2. To go by an indirect route or at no set pace; amble: wander toward town.

3. To proceed in an irregular course; meander.

4. To go astray: wander from the path of righteousness.

5. To lose clarity or coherence of thought or expression.

v.tr.

To wander across or through: wander the forests and fields.

n.

The act or an instance of wandering; a stroll.

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[Middle English wanderen, from Old English wandrian.]

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wander·er n.

wander·ing·ly adv.

Synonyms: wander, ramble, roam, rove¹, range, meander, stray, gallivant, gad¹
These verbs mean to move about at random or without destination or purpose. Wander and ramble stress the absence of a fixed course or goal: wandered down the hall lost in thought. "They would go off together, rambling along the river" John Galsworthy.
Roam and rove emphasize freedom of movement, often over a wide area: "Herds of horses and cattle roamed at will over the plain" George W. Cable. "For ten long years I roved about, living first in one capital, then another" Charlotte Brontë.
Range suggests wandering in all directions: "a large hunting party known to be ranging the prairie" Francis Parkman.
Meander suggests leisurely wandering over an irregular or winding course: "He meandered to and fro . . . observing the manners and customs of Hillport society" Arnold Bennett.
Stray refers to deviation from a proper course: "I ask pardon, I am straying from the question" Oliver Goldsmith.
Gallivant refers to wandering in search of pleasure: gallivanted all over the city during our visit.
Gad suggests restlessness: gadded about unaccompanied in foreign places.

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wander

Verb

1. to walk about in a place without any definite purpose or destination

2. (often foll. by off)to leave a place where one is supposed to stay: kids wander off

3. (of the mind) to lose concentration

Noun

the act or an instance of wandering [Old English wandrian]

wanderer n
wandering adjn

Thesaurus

Verb	1.	wander - 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" rove, stray, roam, vagabond, swan, ramble, range, drift, tramp, cast, roll go, locomote, move, travel - change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically; "How fast does your new car go?"; "We travelled from Rome to Naples by bus"; "The policemen went from door to door looking for the suspect"; "The soldiers moved towards the city in an attempt to take it before night fell"; "news travelled fast" maunder - wander aimlessly gad, gallivant, jazz around - wander aimlessly in search of pleasure drift, err, stray - wander from a direct course or at random; "The child strayed from the path and her parents lost sight of her"; "don't drift from the set course" wander - go via an indirect route or at no set pace; "After dinner, we wandered into town"
	2.	wander - be sexually unfaithful to one's partner in marriage; "She cheats on her husband"; "Might her husband be wandering?" cheat on, cuckold, betray, cheat cozen, deceive, delude, lead on - be false to; be dishonest with two-time - carry on a romantic relationship with two people at the same time play around, fool around - commit adultery; "he plays around a lot"
	3.	wander - go via an indirect route or at no set pace; "After dinner, we wandered into town" rove, stray, roam, vagabond, wander, swan, ramble, range, drift, tramp, cast, roll - 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" meander, thread, wind, wander, weave - 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" go forward, proceed, continue - move ahead; travel onward in time or space; "We proceeded towards Washington"; "She continued in the direction of the hills"; "We are moving ahead in time now"
	4.	wander - 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" meander, thread, wind, weave go, locomote, move, travel - change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically; "How fast does your new car go?"; "We travelled from Rome to Naples by bus"; "The policemen went from door to door looking for the suspect"; "The soldiers moved towards the city in an attempt to take it before night fell"; "news travelled fast" snake - move along a winding path; "The army snaked through the jungle" wander - go via an indirect route or at no set pace; "After dinner, we wandered into town"
	5.	wander - 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" digress, divagate, stray tell - let something be known; "Tell them that you will be late"

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wander

verb 1. roam, walk, drift, stroll, range, cruise, stray, ramble, prowl, meander, rove, straggle, traipse (informal) mooch around (slang) stravaig Scot., Northern English (dialect) knock about or around, peregrinate

noun 2. excursion, turn, walk, stroll, cruise, ramble, meander, promenade, traipse (informal) mosey (informal) peregrination

wander off stray, roam, go astray, lose your way, drift, depart, rove, straggle

wander off something deviate, diverge, veer, swerve, digress, go off at a tangent, go off course, lapse

Translations

wander [ˈwɔndəʳ] vi [person] → vagar; deambular; [thoughts] → divagar (= get lost); extraviarse

vt → recorrer, vagar por

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wander [ˈwɔndəʳ] vi [person] → errer, aller sans but; [thoughts] → vagabonder; [river] → serpenter

vt → errer dans

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wander [ˈwɔndəʳ] vi [person] → herumlaufen; [mind, thoughts] → wandern

vt [+ the streets, the hills etc] → durchstreifen

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wander [ˈwɔndəʳ] vi [person] → girare senza meta, girovagare; [thoughts] → vagare; [river] → serpeggiare