Adjacent Words

Meander definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

MEAN'DER, n. [the name of a winding river in Phrygia.]
1. A winding course; a winding or turning in a passage; as the meanders of the veins and arteries.
While lingering rivers in meanders glide.
2. A maze; a labyrinth; perplexity; as the meanders of the law.
MEAN'DER, v.t. To wind, turn or flow round; to make flexuous.
MEAN'DER, v.i. To wind or turn in a course or passage; to be intricate.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a bend or curve, as in a stream or river
2: an aimless amble on a winding course [syn: ramble, meander] v
1: to move or cause to move in a sinuous, spiral, or circular course; "the river winds through the hills"; "the path meanders through the vineyards"; "sometimes, the gout wanders through the entire body" [syn: weave, wind, thread, meander, wander]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Latin maeander, from Greek maiandros, from Maiandros (now Menderes), river in Asia Minor Date: 1576 1. a winding path or course; especially labyrinth 2. a turn or winding of a stream • meandrous adjective II. intransitive verb (-dered; meandering) Date: circa 1612 1. to follow a winding or intricate course 2. to wander aimlessly or casually without urgent destination ; ramble Synonyms: see wander

Britannica Concise

Extreme U-bend in a stream, usually occurring in a series, that is caused by flow characteristics of the water. Meanders form in stream-deposited sediments and may stack up upstream of an obstruction, resulting in a gooseneck or extremely bowed meander. A cutoff may form through the gooseneck and allow the former meander bend to be sealed off as an oxbow lake. Silt deposits may eventually fill the lake to form a marsh or a meander scar.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. & n. --v.intr. 1 wander at random. 2 (of a stream) wind about. --n. 1 (in pl.) a the sinuous windings of a river. b winding paths. 2 a circuitous journey. 3 an ornamental pattern of lines winding in and out; a fret. Etymology: L maeander f. Gk Maiandros, the name of a winding river in Phrygia

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Meander Me*an"der, n. [L. Maeander, orig., a river in Phrygia, proverbial for its many windings, Gr. ?: cf. F. m['e]andre.] 1. A winding, crooked, or involved course; as, the meanders of the veins and arteries. --Sir M. Hale. While lingering rivers in meanders glide. --Sir R. Blackmore. 2. A tortuous or intricate movement. 3. (Arch.) Fretwork. See Fret.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Meander Me*an"der, v. t. To wind, turn, or twist; to make flexuous. --Dryton.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Meander Me*an"der, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Meandered; p. pr. & vb. n. Meandering.] To wind or turn in a course or passage; to be intricate. Five miles meandering with a mazy motion Through wood and dale the sacred river ran. --Coleridge.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(meanders, meandering, meandered) 1. If a river or road meanders, it has a lot of bends, rather than going in a straight line from one place to another. ...roads that meandered round the edges of the fields... We crossed a small iron bridge over a meandering stream. VERB: V prep/adv, V-ing, also V 2. A meander is a large bend in a river. N-COUNT 3. If you meander somewhere, you move slowly and not in a straight line. We meandered through a landscape of mountains, rivers, and vineyards... VERB: V prep/adv 4. If a speech, account, or piece of writing meanders, it seems to move from one topic to another without any order or purpose. His talk appears to meander but by the end focuses attention on the true state of affairs. ...a rich and meandering novel. VERB: V, V-ing

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. 1. Labyrinth, maze, winding course, perplexity, intricacy. 2. Indirect course. II. v. n. Wind, be tortuous, run in a serpentine course, turn, flow round.

Moby Thesaurus

Chinese puzzle, Gordian knot, Rube Goldberg contraption, S-curve, ambages, amble, anfractuosity, bat around, bend, bending, bends, bow, bowing, bum, can of worms, circuitousness, circumambages, circumbendibus, circumlocution, circumvolution, coils, complex, conflexure, contort, convolution, corkscrew, count ties, crinkle, crinkling, curves, deflection, divagate, drift, err, excurse, flection, flex, flexuosity, flexuousness, flexure, flit, gad, gad about, gallivant, geanticline, geosyncline, go about, go adrift, go astray, go the rounds, hairpin turn, hit the road, hit the trail, hobo, inflection, intorsion, intort, involution, jaunt, jungle, knock about, knock around, knot, labyrinth, loops, maze, meandering, mesh, mess, mooch, mosey, nomadize, oxbow, peregrinate, pererrate, perplex, prowl, ramble, range, ravel, reflection, rivulation, roam, rove, run about, saunter, scallop, screw, serpentine, sinuation, sinuosity, sinuousness, slink, slinkiness, snafu, snake, snake pit, snakiness, snarl, straggle, stray, stroll, sweep, swirl, tangle, tangled skein, torsion, tortility, tortuosity, tortuousness, traipse, tramp, turn, turning, twine, twirl, twist, twist and turn, twisting, undulation, vagabond, vagabondize, walk the tracks, wander, wave, waving, wayfare, webwork, wheels within wheels, whirl, whorl, wilderness, wind, winding, worm, wring, zigzag