Spend at least 20 seconds occupying your mind with the game below. You’ll know you understand what "meander" means when you can explain it without saying "go around aimlessly" or "move from place to place without purpose." try it out:įill in the blanks: "When I'm (doing something mindless), my thoughts meander: why _, and how _?"Įxample: " When I'm folding my daughter's tiny socks, my thoughts meander: why does she have to grow up so quickly, and how can I remove all this playground mulch? " before you review: Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. In his new stand-up special, Dave Chappelle meanders from story to story, of course, then draws laughter with a sudden return to structure: "And the third time I met O.J. The first three episodes of Lost were great before the plot started to meander. "Meandering" also works as a noun: "He's known for his meandering at the podium." examples: You can say that things meander to or toward or around something, that things meander from something to something else, that things meander across or down or through a place, etc.įor the adjective, use "meandering:" meandering paths and rivers, meandering songs and stories, meandering thoughts and daydreams, etc. Likewise, something or someone meanders.)Īlthough literal things meander (like paths, trails, courses, roads, rivers, and streams, as well as people), we'll focus more on figurative things that meander, like thoughts and daydreams, songs and stories, performances, games, comments and speeches, conversations and conferences, and so on. You don’t "sleep a bed," "skydive a plane," or "succeed a plan." You sleep, you skydive, you succeed, and that’s it. (Like "sleep," "skydive," and "succeed," all intransitive verbs show complete action on their own and do not do action to an object. Most often a verb, specifically the intransitive kind. (Be sure to say three syllables, "me YAN der," To meander is to wander around without any specific purpose, either literally or figuratively , in a way that reminds you of a winding river.
So, to meander is to wind aimlessly.Īnd a d_cle is a shattering of ice in a river-or any total, sudden failure. On a map, you can see the birthplace of our word meander: Turkey's Büyük Menderes River, historically called the river Maeander or Maeandros.