wander-v; 4 Senses

Sense Number 1: Move about aimlessly or as if without destination; go via an indirect route or at no set pace.

Examples:
Cattle wander across the prairie.
The gypsies wandered the woods for months at a time.
After dinner, we wandered into town.
Antelope wander in to drink at dusk.
We still have people wandering around San Francisco in a daze.

Mappings:
VerbNet: run-51.3.2-1
FrameNet: Self_motion
PropBank: wander.01
WordNet 3.0 Sense Numbers: 1, 3

Sense Number 2: To move or cause to move in a sinuous, spiral, or circular course.

Commentary:
NOTE: Compare to Sense 1; in Sense 2, the agent of movement and the thing moving are NOT the same. In some cases, there is no clear cause of the movement. INCLUDES: WANDER OVER, WANDER THROUGH, WANDER ALONG

Examples:
Sometimes the gout wanders through the entire body.
The path wanders down along the creek.
Her eyes wandered over the document.

Mappings:
VerbNet: meander-47.7
FrameNet: NM
PropBank: NM
WordNet 3.0 Sense Numbers: 4

Sense Number 3: Lose clarity or turn aside, especially from the main subject of attention or course of argument.

Examples:
She always wanders when telling a story.
Her mind often wanders.
Don't wander when you give your lecture.

Mappings:
VerbNet: NM
FrameNet: NM
PropBank: NM
WordNet 3.0 Sense Numbers: 5

Sense Number 4: Be sexually unfaithful to one's partner in marriage.

Commentary:
NOTE: Includes euphemistic uses, like "His eye wandered for many years before again settling on his wife." DOES NOT INCLUDE "(his eye) wandered OVER". Compare to Sense 2.

Examples:
His eye wandered for many years before again settling on his wife.
Might her husband be wandering?
She wandered with many men.

Mappings:
VerbNet: NM
FrameNet: NM
PropBank: NM
WordNet 3.0 Sense Numbers: 2