# wander

> English word · Verb · IPA /ˈwɒndə/ · frequency rank #11,821

## Definitions
1. To move without purpose or specified destination; often in search of livelihood.
2. To stray; stray from one's course; err.
3. To commit adultery.
4. To go somewhere indirectly or at varying speeds; to move in a curved path.
5. Of the mind, to lose focus or clarity of argument or attention.

## Etymology
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”).

## Easily confused with
- **wane** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wander-vs-wane)
- **Water** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wander-vs-water)
- **wider** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wander-vs-wider)
- **Wands** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wander-vs-wands)
- **waver** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wander-vs-waver)
- **wanted** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wander-vs-wanted)
- **wonder** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wander-vs-wonder)
- **winter** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wander-vs-winter)
- **winner** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wander-vs-winner)
- **Warner** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wander-vs-warner)
- **warmer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wander-vs-warmer)
- **warden** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wander-vs-warden)
- **winger** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wander-vs-winger)
- **wilder** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wander-vs-wilder)
- **washer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wander-vs-washer)
- **wanker** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wander-vs-wanker)
- **welder** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wander-vs-welder)
- **winded** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wander-vs-winded)
- **winder** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wander-vs-winder)
- **wonders** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wander-vs-wonders)

## Common misspellings (9)
`awnder`, `wadner`, `wandder`, `wanderr`, `wandre`, `wanedr`, `wannder`, `wnader`, `wwander`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/wander