wander
verb /ˈwɒndə(r)/
/ˈwɑːndər/
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they wander | /ˈwɒndə(r)/ /ˈwɑːndər/ |
| he / she / it wanders | /ˈwɒndəz/ /ˈwɑːndərz/ |
| past simple wandered | /ˈwɒndəd/ /ˈwɑːndərd/ |
| past participle wandered | /ˈwɒndəd/ /ˈwɑːndərd/ |
| -ing form wandering | /ˈwɒndərɪŋ/ /ˈwɑːndərɪŋ/ |
- [intransitive, transitive] to walk slowly around or to a place, often without any particular sense of purpose or direction
- + adv./prep. She wandered aimlessly around the streets.
- We wandered back towards the car.
- wander something The child was found wandering the streets alone.
Extra ExamplesTopics Hobbiesb2- Don't go wandering all over the house!
- He just wandered in one day and asked for a job.
- He wandered into a bar and ordered a drink.
- One day she wandered further afield.
- Simply wandering is a pleasure in itself.
- The cattle are allowed to wander freely.
- They found him wandering around aimlessly.
- Visitors are free to wander through the gardens and woods.
- Cattle and sheep wander freely on the hilltops.
- During the day I would wander the streets, asking passers-by for a few cents.
- He was found wandering in the road late one night.
- She had spent her life wandering from place to place.
- They spent a couple of hours wandering through the markets.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- slowly
- aimlessly
- disconsolately
- …
- be free to
- allow somebody/something to
- let somebody/something
- …
- across
- all over
- along
- …
- find somebody wandering
- [intransitive] to move away from the place where you ought to be or the people you are with synonym stray
- wander away/off The child wandered off and got lost.
- How could you let him wander off like that?
- wander from/off something They had wandered from the path into the woods.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- slowly
- aimlessly
- disconsolately
- …
- be free to
- allow somebody/something to
- let somebody/something
- …
- across
- all over
- along
- …
- find somebody wandering
- [intransitive] (of a person’s mind or thoughts) to stop being directed on something and to move without much control to other ideas, subjects, etc. synonym drift
- It's easy to be distracted and let your attention wander.
- Try not to let your mind wander.
- wander away, back, to, etc. something Her thoughts wandered back to her youth.
- Don’t wander off the subject—keep to the point.
Extra Examples- Lisa let her mind wander a little.
- His attention was beginning to wander.
- My thoughts wandered from the exam questions to my interview the next day.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- a little
- begin to
- allow something to
- let something
- …
- from
- to
- [intransitive] (of a person’s eyes) to move slowly from looking at one thing to looking at another thing or in other directions
- She let her gaze wander.
- + adv./prep. His eyes wandered towards the photographs on the wall.
- [intransitive] (+ adv./prep.) (of a road or river) to go in a curve instead of following a straight course
- The road wanders along through the hills.
Word OriginOld English wandrian, of West Germanic origin; related to wend and wind2.