rambling

adjective

ram·​bling ˈram-b(ə-)liŋ 

1

: proceeding without a specific goal, purpose, or direction: such as

a

: wandering about from one place to another

a rambling walk

b

: straying from subject to subject

a rambling essay/discussion/discourse

a rambling talker

His text is at times repetitious and rambling.

—Robert Howard

c

: stretching, spreading, or growing in a winding or irregular way

a rambling stream

rambling roses

2

: large and informally designed

a rambling farmhouse

… blue-tinged shots give the sinister prison … the air of a rambling edifice out of Dickens.

—Celia Wren

ramblingly adverb

a ramblingly told story

Synonyms

• wandering
• excursive
• indirect

Examples of rambling in a Sentence

I listened patiently to Mrs. Parsifal's rambling reminiscences, though I had no idea who "Dorothy" and "the stepson" were

the new minister gives rambling sermons that, if they have a point, are lost on the congregation, which invariably falls asleep

Recent Examples on the Web

The videos, which depict handwritten journals and a display of high-powered weaponry, paint a portrait of a person with a rambling and deeply nihilistic outlook, according to analyses by law enforcement and ABC News. —Megan Forrester, ABC News, 27 Aug. 2025

There’s nothing worse than a long, rambling story that’s resolved in an only-mildly humorous ending. —Jay Sullivan, Forbes.com, 25 Aug. 2025

The rambling rocks appear to travel across the sand on their own, leaving clear dirt trails in their wake. —Andrew Paul Aug 14, Popular Science, 14 Aug. 2025

There were also quirks unique to AI—such as getting derailed by ASCII art or lapsing into philosophical rambling during long tasks. —Sharon Goldman, Fortune, 12 Aug. 2025

In the early morning hours of Dec. 26, 1996, Patsy Ramsey called 911 to report her 6-year-old daughter JonBenét missing, and found a rambling ransom note left inside their Boulder, Colorado, home. —Erin Moriarty, CBS News, 20 Dec. 2024

His statement came a day after the release of the Netflix series, which takes viewers back to the morning after Christmas 28 years ago, when JonBenét’s mother called 911 to report finding a rambling ransom note and her daughter missing. —Elizabeth Chuck, NBC News, 3 Dec. 2024

There is more than 178 feet of beach and ocean frontage, which can be accessed via a rambling wooden staircase. —Emma Reynolds, Robb Report, 5 Nov. 2024

The Harris campaign, her allies, and Trump’s enemies have sought to capitalize on the age concerns by incessantly highlighting Trump’s rambling and bizarre tangents in his speeches, factual errors and nonsensical answers to questions from reporters and voters. —Sara Dorn, Forbes, 16 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1609, in the meaning defined at sense 1