Meander

 WORD OF THE DAY

meander / verb / mee-AN-der

Definition
1a: a winding path or course
1b: labyrinth
2: a turn or winding of a stream
3: to follow a winding or intricate course
4a: to wander aimlessly or casually without urgent destination
4b: ramble

Examples
"Seeking a respite from the frantic pace of the digital world, we turned to 'The Unwinding: And Other Dreamings.' … [We] meandered through the pages, absorbed in peaceful fragments of prose and Morris's elaborate watercolors."
— Julian Wray and Sam Mathisson, The Michigan Daily, 10 Dec. 2021

He meandered with the sightseers gawping at the boat people
— John le Carré

Did You Know?

Roam, ramble, and meander all mean to move about from place to place without a plan or definite purpose, but each suggests wandering in a unique way.
Roam refers to carefree wandering over a wide area often for pleasure (as in "I roamed over the hills for hours").
Ramble stresses carelessness and indifference to one's course or objective (for instance, "the speaker rambled on without ever coming to the point").
Meander, which comes from Greek Maiandros—an old name for a river in Asia Minor that is now known as the Menderes—implies a winding course and lazy movement, and it is still sometimes associated with rivers (as in, "the river meandered through the town").
Meander can also be used as a noun meaning "a winding path."