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Glite Dictionary
🚶 To wander slowly 🚶 A winding walk 🌊 A river bend
meander

meander

1 5.5
A large curve in a river or stream
  • noun
  • /miˈændər/
translation icon : meandro
  • Both poor drainage within streams' meander belts and abandoned river channels, the latter of which are slightly lower than the surrounding floodplain surface, make these sites too wet for cultivation, so bottomland forest still occupies them.

Examples

  • The lower meadow was a great swamp with hundreds of wild purple iris; the higher, a mass of rock outcrops surrounded by great meanders of pink, blue, and white forget-me-nots.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Warkworth Castle stands high on a river cliff in a meander of the River Coquet.

    Academic text (1999)

  • Areas within or immediately adjacent to the meander belt will flood most years for periods ranging from a few weeks to a few months, and more than one event can happen during a single year.

    Academic text (2012)

  • Todd's map shows a honeycomb of blue meanders wrapping around shards of land for 300 miles.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • A sign calls the Goosenecks of the San Juan "one of the finest examples of entrenched meanders in the world." In nature, an entrenched meander becomes a stunning canyon.

    Academic text (2010)

  • The plan is fixated on the Yamhill River, placing the public landing (the "Common") at a spot on the outside of a meander for deeper water to bring the watercraft closer to the dock.

    Academic text (2006)

  • During the first two centuries A.D., it expanded into a Roman city covering 200 acres inside a long meander of the Zadorra River, located on the Roman road from Asturica Augusta (Astorga) to Burdigala (Bordeaux).

    Academic text (2009)

  • The winding meander of the river creates a beautiful landscape for hikers.

  • We enjoyed the scenic views along the meander of the creek as it flowed past the forest.

  • The artist captured the tranquil beauty of the meander where the river curves gracefully.

Synonyms

bend
vsmeander
77 1.2

A curved part of a road, river, pipe, or body

highlights a specific river or stream curve rather than any simple curve
crook
vsmeander
11 4.4

A sharp bend in a road, river or path

describes a smoother, winding river curve rather than a sudden bend
winding
vsmeander
2 3.1

A curved part of a road or river

refers to a single natural river curve formed by gentle turns

How Winding

meander
1 5.5
to loop
  • Specialized
8 4.3
oxbow
3 8.4
to curve
22 2.8
bend
77 1.2

Surface Forms

meander singular
meanders plural

Etymology

The word meander comes from an old Greek river called the Maeander, which bent and turned many times, so a 'meander' is a curve or bend in a river.