wade

1 of 3

verb

ˈwād 

waded; wading

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 

wade

2 of 3

noun

: an act of wading

a wade in the brook

wadable

3 of 3

adjective

wad·​able

variants or wadeable

ˈwādəbəl 

: capable of being waded

a wadable stream

Synonyms of wade

Verb

• tackle
• have at
• dive (into)
• approach
• undertake
• fall (to)
• address
• attack

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

Verb

He was then seen walking around the Lakewalk and Canal Park areas for hours, eventually walking fully clothed into Lake Superior and wading around for half an hour. —Wcco Staff, CBS News, 15 June 2026

There, Canal water is run through filters and visitors are invited to cool off and wade around. —Emily Watlington, ARTnews.com, 12 June 2026

Nearby, a limpkin waded in the creek to forage, and a great blue heron flew by. —Patrick Connolly, The Orlando Sentinel, 12 June 2026

That the wading herons need do little more than stand and open their mouths to receive the fish jumping from the shallows? —Jeff Vandermeer, Travel + Leisure, 11 June 2026

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

Rhymes for wade

• aid
• aide
• bade
• blade
• braid
• clade
• dade
• fade
• flayed
• fraid
• frayed
• gade

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