wanderings 1548
follow ordinary conversation: I'm afraid my father's mind is wandering; he's 94, you know. 4 I wandered lonely as a cloud quote the first line of the poem Daffodils by William WORDSWORTH ➜ see also DAFFODIL —~er n
**wan·der·ings** /ˈwɒndərɪŋz‖ˈwɑːn-/ *n* [P] movement from place to place, especially away from the proper or usual course or place: *You must have seen a lot of strange things in your wanderings.*
**wan·der·lust** /ˈwɒndəlʌst‖ˈwɑːndər-/ *n* [S;U] a strong desire to travel to faraway places
**wane** /weɪn/ *v* [I] to grow gradually smaller or less after being full or complete: *The moon waxes and wanes every month.* | *the waning power of the Roman Empire in the 5th century*
**wane²** *n* **on the wane** becoming smaller, weaker, or less: *By now the power of the Roman Empire was on the wane.*
**Wang, Ve·ra** /wæŋ‖ˈwɑːŋ, ˈvɪərə/ (1949–) an American fashion DESIGNER who is known especially for designing wedding dresses, EVENING DRESSES, and special dresses for people who ICE-SKATE
**wan·gle** /ˈwægəl/ *v* [T[into, out of]] *infml* **1** to obtain, persuade etc, by cleverness or a trick: *I wangled an invitation (out of George).* | *I wangled George into giving me an invitation.* **2** wangle one's way into/out of to get into (a good situation) or out of (a difficulty) by cleverness or a trick —**wangle** *n*
**wank¹** /wæŋk/ *v* [I] *BrE taboo slang* for MASTURBATE
**wank²** *n* [S] *BrE taboo slang* an act of wanking
**wank·er** /ˈwæŋkər/ *n BrE taboo slang* a foolish or useless person
**wan·na** /ˈwɒnə‖ˈwɑː-/ **1** want to **2** want a
| Want to and want a are sometimes pronounced in this way. They may be written **wanna** in stories to show an informal, and especially American English, way of speaking: *I don't **wanna** go.* (=I don't want to go.) | **Wanna** drink? (=Do you want a drink?) |
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**wan·na·be** /ˈwɒnəbi‖ˈwɑː-/ *n especially AmE* want to be; a person who wants to be like another person, especially someone famous, and so wears similar clothes and tries to act like that person: *Madonna wannabes* ➜ compare WOULD-BE
**want¹** /wɒnt‖wɑːnt, wɔːnt/ *v* [not usually in progressive forms] **1** [T] to have a strong desire for: *I want a drink.* | *Ask him what he wants.* | *What do you want for your birthday?* (=What present would you like?) | [+to-v] *Do you want to go now?* | [+obj+to-v] *He wants you to wait here.* | [+obj+adj/v-ed] *I want that letter ready/typed by tomorrow.* | [+obj+v-ing; usually in negatives] *I don't want people coming in and out all day.* (=I would not like it and will not allow it) | (*infml*) *She's been wanting to go to Japan for years.* **2** [T often pass.] to wish or demand the presence of: *Your mother wants you.* | *The second team will not be wanted this afternoon.* **3** [T(for) often pass.] (especially of the police) to hunt or look for, especially in order to catch: *He is wanted for murder/for questioning.* | *a wanted man* **4** [T] *infml* to need: *The house wants a new coat of paint.* | [+v-ing; obj] *This job wants doing at once.* **5** [T+to-v; obj] *especially BrE infml* ought: *You want to see a doctor about your cough.* | *You don't want* (=ought not) *to work so hard.* | *The work wants to be done with great care.* **6** [T] *fml* to suffer from the lack (of): *In poorer countries many people still want food and shelter.* ➜ see also WANT FOR **7** [I+IN or OUT] *AmE infml or ScotE* to wish to come or go: *The cat wants in/out.* **8** want some doing *infml* to need a great deal of effort
| **I want (to)** is rather a strong way of expressing a wish, and it may not seem polite to the person you are speaking to. **I'd like (to)** is often more suitable. ➜ see also LIKE (USAGE), WANNA (USAGE) |
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**want for sthg.** *phr v* [T usually in questions and negatives] *fml* (of a person) to lack (especially food, clothing, shelter, money, love etc): *The children have never wanted for anything.* (=have always had everything they needed)
**want²** *n* **1** [C;U(of)] (a) lack, absence, or need: *All his wants were satisfied/supplied.* (=He was given everything he needed.) | *The plants died for/from want of water.* | *I'll take this one for want of a better.* (=because there isn't a better one) **2** [U] *fml* severe lack of the things necessary to life: *They had lived all their lives in want.* **3** in want of *fml* in need of: *The house is in want of repair.*
**'want ad** *n AmE* for CLASSIFIED AD
**want·ed** /ˈwɒntɪd‖ˈwɔːn-, ˈwɑːn-/ *adj* being looked for by the police in connection with the one or more crimes: *He is wanted for the murder of a teenage girl.* | *France's most wanted criminal*
**want·ing** /ˈwɒntɪŋˈwɔːn-, ˈwɑːn-/ *adj* [F] **1** [+in] *fml* lacking *wanting in gratitude* (=ungrateful) **2** {[in]} *fml* not good enough or strong enough: *The invention was tested and found wanting.* **3** *euph* weak-minded
**wan·ton** /ˈwɒntən‖ˈwɔːn-, ˈwɑn-/ *adj* **1** (of something bad) having no just cause or no good reason: *wanton cruelty* | *a wanton waste of money* **2** *fml* (especially of a woman) sexually improper; PROMISCUOUS: *wanton behaviour/glances* **3** *fml* uncontrolled: *wanton growth of plant life in the tropical rain forest* —**~ly** *adv* <—**ness** *n* [U]
**WAP** /wæp/ *n* [U] *abbrev.* for wireless application protocol; a system that uses radio waves to allow electronic equipment that is not physically attached to a computer, for example a MOBILE PHONE, to use the Internet
**wap·i·ti** /ˈwɒpɪti‖ˈwɑː-/ *n* *pl.* **-tis** or **-ti** a very large N American deer
**Wap·ping** /ˈwɒpɪŋˈwɑ-/ part of the Docklands area of East London, which has been a centre of the British newspaper industry since the 1980s, when several newspapers moved their offices there from Fleet Street.
**war** /wɔːr/ *n* **1** [U] armed fighting between nations: *They went to war over the violation of their airspace.* | *The two countries have been at war (with each other) for years.* | *We must go to war against/declare war on* (=begin an armed struggle against) *our enemies.* | *The Allies waged war on/against Hitler.* **2** [C] an example or period of this: *He fought in both World Wars.* | *to provoke a war* | *the American War of Independence* | *a war of attrition* | *a war memorial* | *war graves* | *a war hero/veteran* | *war poets* (=writing during and about, the war) | *a nuclear war* | *the war-torn city of Beirut*
| **CULTURAL NOTE** When British people talk about 'the war', they usually mean the Second World War. |
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**3** [C;U] a struggle between opposing forces or for a particular purpose: *the war against disease* | *the oil-price war* **4** in the wars *infml* having been hurt or damaged ➜ compare BATTLE see also CIVIL WAR, COLD WAR, PRISONER OF WAR, STAR WARS, WARRING
**War and 'Peace** (1863–69) a novel by the Russian writer Leo TOLSTOY, set during the NAPOLEONIC WARS and considered by many people to be one of the greatest novels ever written. It is sometimes mentioned as being a very typical example of an extremely long book.
**War between the 'States, the** the American CIVIL WAR. This expression is used mainly by people in the South of the US.
**war·ble** /ˈwɔːbəlˈwɔːr-/ *v* [I] (especially of a bird) to sing with a clear, continuous, yet varied note —**warble** *n* [S]
**war-bler** /ˈwɔːblər‖ˈwɔːr-/ *n* **1** any of various song birds **2** *humor* an especially female singer
**'war bonnet** *n* a kind of hat with many feathers sewn onto it worn by some Native Americans either formerly or now in ceremonies
**'war bride** *n* a woman who marries a foreign soldier (who is in her country because of war): *My father's American but my mother is English – she was a war bride.*
**'war cabinet** *n* a group of very important British government ministers who meet to discuss the progress of a war
**'war chest** *n AmE infml* the money a government has which it can spend on a war
**'war clouds** *n* [P] signs that war is getting more likely: *War clouds were gathering over Europe in the summer of 1939.*
**'war crime** *n* an illegal and usually cruel act during a war such as the mistreatment of prisoners or the murder of many harmless people —**war criminal** *n*
**'war cry** also **battle cry** *n* **1** a shout used by people fighting in a war to show their courage and make the enemy afraid **2** a short statement, easy to remember, used for getting people to