To meander is to follow a winding, indirect course without a fixed destination. As a verb, it describes both rivers that curve lazily across flat land and people who wander or talk without clear direction. As a noun, it refers to a looping bend in a river, or any irregular, sinuous path.
Origin
The word comes from the Maeander (now called the Büyük Menderes), a river in western Turkey celebrated in antiquity for its spectacularly winding course across the Anatolian plain. Greek writers used Maiandros as a synonym for any twisting path. Latin adopted it as maeander, and by the 16th century English had absorbed it whole, river and all.
In use
The trail meandered through the forest.
His speech meandered before reaching the point.
We meandered around the old city all afternoon.
