wade

1 of 2

verb

ˈwād How to pronounce wade (audio)
waded; wading
Synonyms of wade

intransitive verb

1
: to step in or through a medium (such as water) offering more resistance than air
2
: to move or proceed with difficulty or labor
wade through the crowd
wade through all the evidence
3
: to set to work or attack with determination or vigor
—used with in or into
wade into a task

transitive verb

: to pass or cross by wading
wadable adjective
or wadeable
ˈwā-də-bəl How to pronounce wade (audio)

wade

2 of 2

noun

: an act of wading
a wade in the brook

Synonyms of wade

Relevance

Verb

See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of wade in a Sentence

Verb We waded into the ocean. I jumped off the boat and waded back to shore. Police waded into the crowd. We waded through the crowded bus station. It took several weeks to wade through all the evidence. We waded our way through the crowd.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Verb
On the Yellowstone River near Livingston, Montana, California resident Mike Wever waded into the swiftly-moving water Friday with a fly fishing rod in one hand. — Matthew Brown, Fortune, 1 Aug. 2026 Guides tailor each day around conditions and what’s running, with trips that might involve swinging flies from a gravel bar, wading a gin-clear tributary, or floating miles of river in hopes of hooking a chrome-bright or rainbow-hued fish. — Bailey Berg, Travel + Leisure, 1 Aug. 2026 While wading into other IPs has been met with mixed reactions from MtG fans, the collectible card game is one of the few franchises that isn’t hemorrhaging money for WotC owner Hasbro. — Jess Weatherbed, The Verge, 31 July 2026 On June 20, Getty Images and Reuters photos showed that the pool had a green hue as workers were seen wading in the water to remove algae. — Amanda Lee Myers, USA Today, 31 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for wade

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English, from Old English wadan; akin to Old High German watan to go, wade, Latin vadere to go

First Known Use

Verb

13th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Noun

1665, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of wade was in the 13th century

Rhymes for wade

See All Rhymes for wade

Browse Nearby Words

waddy
wade
Wade-Giles
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Wade.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wade. Accessed 5 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

wade

verb
ˈwād
waded; wading
1
: to step in or through a substance (as water, mud, or sand) that is thicker than air
2
a
: to move or proceed slowly or with difficulty
wade through a dull book
b
: to attack or work energetically
waded into their chores
3
: to pass or cross by wading
wade a stream

More from Merriam-Webster on wade

Nglish: Translation of wade for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

'Sneaked' or 'Snuck': Which is correct?

Why does English have so many silent letters?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Dutch Treat and French Leave: Eight Place-Based Compounds

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

How long is a jiffy?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Dutch Treat and French Leave: Eight Place-Based Compounds

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
asap street sign
Figure Out These Acronyms ASAP You don't have to be a NASA engineer to get these...
See All