Did you know?
Wanderlust Has German Roots
"For my part," writes Robert Louis Stevenson in Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes, "I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move..." Sounds like a case of wanderlust if we ever heard one. Those with wanderlust don't necessarily need to go anywhere in particular; they just don't care to stay in one spot. The etymology of wanderlust is a very simple one that you can probably figure out yourself. Wanderlust is a lust for wandering. The word comes from German, in which wandern means "to wander, hike, or stray" and Lust means "pleasure" or "desire."
Examples of wanderlust in a Sentence
Nicole Kliest, Vogue, 9 Jan. 2026
But hopefully all spark a little wanderlust.
—Ava Wallace, Washington Post, 8 Jan. 2026
These new books about wanderlust, objective sexuality, and the fear of the unknown have our editors hooked.
—Navya Verma, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 Jan. 2026
But they can still be thrust back to their days of wanderlust and thrill-seeking whenever caretakers at the community in Los Gatos, California, schedule a date for residents — many of whom are in their 80s and 90s — to take turns donning virtual reality headsets.
—Michael Liedtke, Fortune, 26 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for wanderlust
Cite this Entry
“Wanderlust.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wanderlust. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
wanderlust
noun
Share