Wander Meaning
/ˈwɒndə/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo move without purpose or specified destination; often in search of livelihood.
verbTo stray; stray from one's course; err.
Sentence Examples
Maybe I'll just wander off on my own.
Let's just wander and see where it takes us.
Stray dogs wander the steep narrow lanes of the old town.
CEFR Practice Quiz
In the afternoon, tourists often ____ through the narrow streets of the old town.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
They decided to ____ through the streets of the old town, admiring the beautiful architecture and the small shops today.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English wandren, from Old English wandrian (“to wander, roam, fly around, hover; change; stray, err”), from Proto-West Germanic *wandarōn (“to wander”), from *wandōn (“to turn, change”) + *-rōn (frequentative suffix). Cognate with Scots wander (“to wander”), German wandern (“to wander, roam, hike, migrate”), Dutch wandelen (“to wander, roam, hike, migrate”), Danish vandre (“to wander, roam, hike, migrate”), Swedish vandra (“to wander, hike”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins."
— 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Hebrews 11:37:
"“A tight little craft,” was Austin’s invariable comment on the matron;[…]. ¶ Near her wandered her husband, orientally bland, invariably affable, and from time to time squinting sideways, as usual, in the ever-renewed expectation that he might catch a glimpse of his stiff, retroussé moustache."
— 1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter IX, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:
"There is an hour or two, after the passengers have embarked, which is disquieting and fussy.[…]Stewards, carrying cabin trunks, swarm in the corridors. Passengers wander restlessly about or hurry, with futile energy, from place to place."
— 1915, G[eorge] A. Birmingham [pseudonym; James Owen Hannay], chapter I, in Gossamer, New York, N.Y.: George H. Doran Company, →OCLC:
"O, let me not wander from thy commandments."
— 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Psalms cxix:10:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
In the afternoon, tourists often ____ through the narrow streets of the old town.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
They decided to ____ through the streets of the old town, admiring the beautiful architecture and the small shops today.