# wandering

Pronunciation: US say "WAHN-dur-ing" /ˈwɑndəɹɪŋ/; UK say "WON-dur-ing" /ˈwɒndəɹɪŋ/

## Adjective

1. Moving from place to place rather than staying settled in one location.
   - Simple: Moving from one place to another, instead of staying in one spot.
   - _The wandering tribe followed the herds across the open plains._
   - _Wandering minstrels once carried news and songs between distant towns._
7. Of an organ: abnormally able to move out of its usual position within the body.
   - Simple: Able to move around inside the body more than it normally should.
   - _A wandering kidney may descend noticeably when the patient is upright._
   - _Doctors sometimes secure a wandering organ surgically to prevent complications._

## Verb

2. Present participle of wander. — present participle and gerund of wander
   - Simple: Present participle of wander. Use this -ing form when the action is happening now.
   - _He spent the evening wandering the old streets of the city._
   - _Wandering through unfamiliar woods, they soon lost the trail._

## Noun

3. The act of traveling without a planned route; roaming freely.
   - Simple: Traveling around with no set plan about where to go.
   - _A summer of wandering taught him to travel light and trust strangers._
   - _Her wandering across the continent filled several notebooks with sketches._
4. The drifting of the mind into aimless, unfocused thought.
   - Simple: When your mind drifts and your thoughts move with no clear aim.
   - _The long sermon invited a pleasant wandering of the mind._
   - _Her constant wandering during study time worried her teachers._
5. A straying away from an intended or desired course.
   - Simple: Moving away from the path or behavior you are supposed to follow.
   - _Years of moral wandering finally gave way to a steadier life._
   - _The coach warned that any wandering from the strategy would cost them the match._
6. An irregular or involuntary turning of the eyes from their normal position.
   - Simple: When an eye turns or moves in a way it should not.
   - _A constant wandering of the eyes made it hard for him to hold a steady gaze._
   - _The optometrist recorded the wandering she observed during the exam._
8. Confused or rambling speech caused by a clouded or delirious mind.
   - Simple: Confused, mixed-up speech that happens when someone's mind is not clear.
   - _The patient's wandering grew worse as the fever climbed through the night._
   - _In his final hours, a feverish wandering took hold of his speech._

## Origin

Formed from the verb "wander" combined with the suffix "-ing".

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/wandering (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).