Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The act of one who wanders; a ramble or peregrination; a journeying hither and thither.
  • noun A straying away, as from one's home or the right way; a deviation or digression in any way or from any course: as, the wandering of the thoughts; a wandering from duty.
  • noun Incoherence of speech; raving; delirium.
  • Roving; roam ing; pursuing no fixed course, plan, or object; unsettled: as, a wandering spirit; wandering habits; a wandering minstrel.
  • A plant-name: The beefsteak- or strawberry-geranium, Saxifraga sarmentosa; locally, the Kenilworth ivy, Linaria Cymbalaria. One of two or three house-plants, as Zebrina pendula (Trades-cantia zebrina), which are planted in baskets or vessels of water, whence they spread in a straggling fashion. Z. pendula has lance-ovate or oblong leaves which are crim son beneath and green or purplish above, with two broad silvery stripes. Another sort has bright green leaves.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • a. & n. from wander, v.
  • (Zoöl.) the great white albatross. See Illust. of Albatross.
  • (Physiol.) an animal cell which possesses the power of spontaneous movement, as one of the white corpuscles of the blood.
  • (Bot.) any one of several creeping species of Tradescantia, which have alternate, pointed leaves, and a soft, herbaceous stem which roots freely at the joints. They are commonly cultivated in hanging baskets, window boxes, etc.
  • (Med.) a morbid condition in which one kidney, or, rarely, both kidneys, can be moved in certain directions; -- called also floating kidney, movable kidney.
  • (Med.) a morbid condition of the liver, similar to wandering kidney.
  • (Zoöl.) the whitefooted, or deer, mouse. See Illust. of Mouse.
  • (Zoöl.) any one of a tribe of spiders that wander about in search of their prey.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective That which wanders.
  • noun Travelling with no preset route; roaming.
  • noun Irregular turning of the eyes.
  • noun Aimless thought.
  • noun Straying from a desired path.
  • noun Disordered speech or delirium.
  • verb Present participle of wander.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective migratory
  • adjective of a path e.g.
  • noun travelling about without any clear destination
  • adjective having no fixed course

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

wander +‎ -ing

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word wandering.

Examples

  • U.S. Video: Gingrich explores presidential run U.S. Video: Police: Teen beaten, tortured at party Report Abuse When the term "wandering spider" came up in the headline, the first thing that came to mind is the Brazillian Wandering Spider, not the Yellow Orb Spider.

    Yahoo! News: Business - Opinion 2011

  • When she saw my expression wandering away from the conversation, she would touch the back of my hand with hers and smile at me with her eyes.

    Neon Rain James Lee Burke 1987

  • This is one of what I call my wandering days before I fall to work.

    The Letters of Charles Dickens Vol. 1 (of 3), 1833-1856 Charles Dickens 1841

  • The water pooled and spread across the gravel parking lot before running in wandering rivulets out into the field beyond, where bright butterflies swarmed and fluttered, dabbing at the mud I was making.

    Fish Story 2009

  • In Poland, where the moth was called the wandering death-bird, its cries were likened to those of a grief-stricken child.

    Indian summer sees exotic moths fly in 2011

  • “Error” in Latin means both what it means in English, and a more literal “wandering from the path”.

    Archive 2009-02-01 Jean 2009

  • The water pooled and spread across the gravel parking lot before running in wandering rivulets out into the field beyond, where bright butterflies swarmed and fluttered, dabbing at the mud I was making.

    Fish Story 2009

  • The water pooled and spread across the gravel parking lot before running in wandering rivulets out into the field beyond, where bright butterflies swarmed and fluttered, dabbing at the mud I was making.

    Fish Story 2009

  • Her structureless wandering is supposed to form a bond between her and The Mad Hatter (a mulit-accented, multi-colored Johnny Depp), but we only know that because thee characters tell us.

    Movie Review: Alice in Wonderland » Scene-Stealers 2010

  • Ok. The above is wandering from the topic at hand.

    The Volokh Conspiracy » The Second Amendment and People with Medical Marijuana User Cards 2010

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.