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 [ˈwɒndə]

vb (mainly intr)

1. (also tr) to move or travel about, in, or through (a place) without any definite purpose or destination

2. to proceed in an irregular course; meander

3. to go astray, as from a path or course

4. (of the mind, thoughts, etc.) to lose concentration or direction

5. to think or speak incoherently or illogically

n

the act or an instance of wandering

[Old English wandrian; related to Old Frisian wandria, Middle Dutch, Middle High German wanderen]

wanderer  n

wandering  adj & n

wanderingly  adv

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), go walkabout (Austral.), mooch around (slang), stravaig (Scot. & Northern English dialect), knock about or around, peregrinate He wandered aimlessly around the garden.

2. stray, roam, digress, get sidetracked, go off at a tangent She allowed her mind to wander to other things.

noun

excursion, turn, walk, stroll, cruise, ramble, meander, promenade, traipse (informal), mosey (informal), peregrination Let's go for a wander round the shops.

wander off stray, roam, go astray, lose your way, drift, depart, rove, straggle The child wandered off and got lost.

wander off something deviate from, diverge from, veer from, swerve from, digress from, go off at a tangent from, go off course from, lapse from He has a tendency to wander off the point when he's talking.

Translations

wander [ˈwɒndəʳ]

A. N → paseo m
to go for or have a wander → pasearse, dar un paseo, dar una vuelta

B. VI

1. (for pleasure) → pasear; (aimlessly) → deambular, vagar, errar
we spent the morning wandering round the old town → pasamos la mañana paseando por el casco antiguo
they wandered aimlessly through the streets → iban deambulando or vagando por las calles
to wander round the shops → curiosear or pasearse por las tiendas

2. (= stray) to wander from the path → desviarse or alejarse del camino
the sheep had wandered into the next field → las ovejas se habían metido en el prado de al lado

3. (fig) [person] (in speech) → divagar
to wander from or off the point → salirse del tema
to let one's mind wander → dejar vagar la imaginación
his eyes wandered round the room → paseó la mirada por la habitación
his attention wandered for a moment and the milk boiled over → se distrajo or despistó un momento y se le salió la leche
my attention wandered a bit in the second half of the film → perdí un poco la concentración or me distraje or me despisté en la segunda mitad de la película

C. VT [+ streets, hills] → recorrer, vagar por
to wander the world → recorrer el mundo entero
he had wandered the seven seas in search of it (liter) → había surcado los siete mares en su busca(liter)

wander about wander around VI + ADV → deambular

wander off

A. VI + ADV the children wandered off into the woods → los niños se alejaron sin rumbo y entraron en el bosque
don't go wandering off → no te alejes demasiado

B. VI + PREP
see wander B3

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wander [ˈwɒndə^r]

vi

(= walk without purpose) → errer

(= stroll) → flâner
to wander around → flâner
I just wandered around for a while → J'ai flâné un peu.
to wander off → partir en vadrouille

[thoughts, mind] → s'égarer
His mind began to wander → Son esprit commença à s'égarer.
My thoughts kept wandering back to that night
BUT Mes pensées revenaient sans cesse à cette nuit.
to wander to [thoughts, mind] → se détourner vers

vt [+ streets, town] → errer dans

n → flânerie f
to go for a wander → aller flâner

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wander

n → Spaziergang m; (through town, park also) → Bummel m; I’m going for a wander (a)round the shops → ich mache einen Ladenbummel

vt hills, world → durchstreifen (geh); to wander the streets → durch die Straßen wandern or (looking for sb/sth also) → irren

vi

(= walk around casually) → herumlaufen; (more aimlessly) → umherwandern (→ through, about in +dat); (leisurely) → schlendern; (to see the shops) → bummeln; he wandered past me in a dream → er ging wie im Traum an mir vorbei; he wandered over to speak to me → er kam zu mir herüber, um mit mir zu reden; his hands wandered over the keys → seine Hände wanderten über die Tasten; the bus wandered along the lanes for a couple of hours → der Bus zuckelte ein paar Stunden durch die Sträßchen; the river wandered through the valley → der Fluss zog sich durch das Tal; I enjoy just wandering around → ich bummele gerne einfach nur herum; if his hands start wandering … (hum) → wenn er seine Finger nicht bei sich (dat) → behalten kann …

(= go off, stray) to wander from the path → vom Wege or Pfad abkommen; the cattle must not be allowed to wander → das Vieh darf nicht einfach so herumlaufen; he wandered too near the edge of the cliff → er geriet zu nahe an den Rand des Abhangs; I accidentally wandered into Squire Thomas’ property → ich bin aus Versehen in das Gelände von Squire Thomas geraten; the children had wandered out onto the street → die Kinder waren auf die Straße gelaufen; the needle tends to wander a bit → der Zeiger schwankt ein bisschen

(fig: thoughts, eye) → schweifen, wandern; to let one’s mind wander → seine Gedanken schweifen lassen; during the lecture his mind wandered a bit → während der Vorlesung wanderten seine Gedanken umher or schweiften seine Gedanken ab; the old man’s mind is beginning to wander a bit → der alte Mann wird ein wenig wirr; to wander from the straight and narrow → vom Pfad der Tugend abirren or abkommen; to wander off a point/the subject → von einem Punkt/vom Thema abschweifen or abkommen

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wander [ˈwɒndəʳ]

1. n to go for a wander around the shops/the town → fare un giro per i negozi/in città

2. vi (person) → gironzolare, girare senza meta; (river, road) → serpeggiare; (stray, from path) → allontanarsi; (thoughts, eyes) → vagare
to wander back/out → tornare indietro/uscire con calma
don't go wandering off → non allontanarti
to wander from or off the point → divagare
to let one's mind or attention wander → distrarsi

3. vt (streets, hills) → girovagare per
to wander the world → girare il mondo

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wander

v wander [ˈwondə]

1 to go, move, walk etc (about, in or on) from place to place with no definite destination in mind I'd like to spend a holiday wandering through France; The mother wandered the streets looking for her child. drentel يَتَجَوَّل скитам се toulat se; bloudit vandre omkring ziehen περιπλανιέμαι, τριγυρίζω recorrer; vagar, errar; pasearse sin propósito rändama, hulkuma سرگردان بودن vaeltaa errer (dans) לְשוֹטֵט घूमना lutati kószál mengembara ráfa, flækjast vagare, errare 歩き回る (정처 없이) 걸어다니다 klajoti/keliauti po klejot; klīst; ceļot mengembara, merantau dwalen vandre, streife omkring włóczyć się (po) percorrer a ră­tă­ci, a cutreiera, a hoinări бродить túlať sa; blúdiť potikati se lutati vandra (irra, ströva) omkring เดินไปโดยไม่มีจุดหมายที่แน่นอน dolaşmak, dolanıp durmak 漫遊，閑逛，無目的地走，流浪 блукати; мандрувати ادھر اُدھر پھرنا đi lang thang 彷徨

2 to go astray or move away from the proper place or home His mind wanders; My attention was wandering. aflei يَهيم، يَشْرُد отклонявам се bloudit flakke abschweifen ξεστρατίζω, αφαιρούμαι extraviarse; divagar, viajar uitama منحرف شدن harhailla (s')égarer לִסטוֹת आवारागर्दी करना lutati elkalandozik melayang-layang reika, vera á reiki vagare さ迷う 길을 잃고 헤매다 nuklysti, klejoti aizklīst; novirzīties; aizmaldīties melayang-layang dwalen komme bort/på avveier błądzić divagar rătăci блуждать blúdiť (za)bloditi lutati gå vilse, komma bort, [] vandra ออกนอกเส้นทาง kaymak, dağılmak 走失，失神，分心 блукати موضوع سے ہٹ جانا lơ đễnh 岔道

n

an act of wandering He's gone for a wander round the shops. drenteling تَجْوال، تَطْواف скитане toulka slentretur das Herumziehen περιπλάνηση vuelta, paseo ringkäik, tiir سرگرداني harhailu tour שִיטוּט आवारागर्दी lutanje vándorlás pengembaraan göngutúr giro ぶらつき 방황, 배회 klajojimas, keliavimas klaiņojums; klejojums; ceļojums merayau-rayau wandeling streif, tur przechadzka passeio tur прогулка túlanie, prechádzka pohajkovanje lutanje vandring, strövtåg การเดินเล่นอย่างไร้จุดหมาย dolanma 漫遊，閑逛 мандрівка, мандри مٹر گشتی sự lang thang 闲逛

n wanderer

drentelaar مُتَجَوِّل،هائِم، تائِه скитник tulák, -čka vandrer; vandringsmand der/die Wanderer(in) περιπλανώμενος trotamundos; nómada; vagabundo rändaja سرگردان vaeltaja vagabond/-onde נוֹדֵד आवारागर्दी करने वाला lutalac vándor(ló), csavargó pengembara ferðalangur vagabondo, girovago 放浪者 헤매는 사람, 방랑자 keliauninkas klejotājs; ceļotājs pengembara, perantau zwerver vandrer, fotturist wędrowiec viajante pribeag; călător странник tulák, -čka popotnik brez cilja lutalica vandrare, vandringsman ผู้ท่องเที่ยวไปโดยไร้จุดหมาย amaçsız gezip duran kimse 彷徨者 мандрівник بے مقصد پھرنے والا người đi lang thang 彷徨者

n wanderlust

the wish to travel He's always travelling – his wanderlust will never be satisfied. reisgier شَهْوَة السَّفَر страст към пътешествията cestovní vášeň rejselyst die Wanderslust λαχτάρα για ταξίδια pasión por viajar, ansia de ver mundo rännukirg عشق سفر vaellushalu passion du voyage תַאֲווָת נדוּדִים सैर-सपाटे की लालसा jaka želja za putovanjem (lutanjem) mehetnék keinginan bepergian útþrá, ferðaþrá (desiderio di viaggiare) 旅心 방랑벽 kelionių aistra ceļošanas prieks keinginan untuk mengembara atau merantau reislust reiselyst zamiłowanie do włóczęgi gosto de viajar pasiunea de a călători страсть к путешествиям záľuba v cestovaní veselje do potovanja žudnja za putovanjima reslust, vandringslust ความต้องการที่จะเดินทางไป; ความปรารถนาที่จะเดินทาง seyehat/yolculuk tutkusu 想旅行的慾望 любов до подорожей سیاحت کا شوق sở thích du lịch 旅行癖

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wander → يتجول potulovat (se) vandre omkring umherwandern περιφέρομαι deambular harhailla errer lutati girovagare 歩き回る 배회하다 rondzwerven vandre wędrować vaguear бродить vandra omkring เดินไปโดยไม่มีจุดหมาย dolaşmak đi lang thang 漫步