#MEANDER DEFINITION FULL#
#MEANDER DEFINITION FREE#

If you were to take your dog to the park and just follow him as he sniffed around, you'd be engaged in a meander.Įxample: Unaware that the trail would meander so much, we took much longer to finish our hike than we expected.Įxample: Watching the bear at the zoo meander around its enclosure made Jane feel a little sorry for it.Įxample: The long hallway's frustrating meanders seem to defy the laws of space and time.Įxample: To his surprise, Frank's meander brought him to a section of town where he'd never been.

#MEANDER DEFINITION FULL#

A meander can also be a long, unfocused trip taken at a gentle pace, full of distractions, changes in course, and general aimlessness. You might hear someone describe the bends and detours of a river or trail as its meanders (technically, you could call just one such bend a meander, but here the word's mostly used in the plural to refer to curvature as a whole). Meander can sometimes function as a noun, too, although this type of usage isn't especially widespread.

So when you're actually composing that important speech or letter, or even just trying to come up with ideas for fun, don't be afraid to let your thoughts wander in circles! However, allowing your mind to meander from time to time can be both relaxing and stimulate creative thinking, as everyone who's ever tried freewriting knows.

When giving an important speech or trying to write a poignant letter, it's probably not a good idea to meander from topic to topic, as doing so might make your message boring or nonsensical. Meander is also commonly used a little more figuratively to describe rambling in speech or thought. This is the kind of ambling you might do when you've got absolutely no clear thoughts you're just sort of heading wherever the mood strikes, stopping to smell any flower that attracts you and letting your feet do the thinking. Meandering is also often thought of as slow and easy, perhaps a result of a relaxed or confused mind.

If you set out on a walk with the intent to meander, you've already kind of defeated yourself, as the word implies a movement without any sort of purpose, motivation, or logic. Unless you're navigating a river, though, you'd probably encounter meander in reference to aimless, nonlinear roaming. Winding, lazily flowing rivers (even those found at waterparks) are among the most common things said to meander in this way, but the word can also be used to talk about the courses of things like country roads and mountain passes. A path or road that meanders stretches out in bends, curves, and spirals, taking strange or unnecessary detours and maybe even doubling back on itself.

We'll try not to get sidetracked here: meander commonly functions as a verb to refer to the taking of a twisty, purposelessly circuitous track.

#MEANDER DEFINITION FREE#

And the best part? While you drift along past grinning tikis and sublimely fake palm trees, your thoughts are free to meander too, as aimless and relaxed as the Lazy River itself. There's no fear involved, no skill, no complications you just give yourself over to the current and let your inner tube meander where it will. After a long day of riding gigantic slides, standing on even more gigantic lines, and trying not to swallow questionable pool water, the Lazy River's meanders are more welcome than the softest bedsheets. Ah, the Lazy River: the most wonderful waterpark ride for the indolent among us.

Meander definition