wade

1 of 2

verb

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

wade

2 of 2

noun

: an act of wading
a wade in the brook

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
Starting Monday, voters in Miami can cast their ballots in person without having to wade through Election Day lines on Nov. 5. Jeff Weiner, Axios, 18 Oct. 2024 At the time of the Philadelphia convention, no other country in the world directly elected its chief executive, so the delegates were wading into uncharted territory. Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 15 Oct. 2024 But as the election nears — and the polls tighten — she’s been wading into tougher territory such as 60 Minutes and an interview on Fox News that’s being aired Wednesday night. James Hibberd, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Oct. 2024 To name a few, companies are struggling to wade through the hype, figure out what use cases AI is good for, navigate fast-moving regulation, protect their IT stacks from AI sprawl, deal with hallucinations, and confront a variety of intricate copyright, security, privacy, and compliance concerns. Shawn Tully, Fortune, 10 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for wade 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'wade.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Dictionary Entries Near wade

Cite this Entry

“Wade.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wade. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

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

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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