Saunter
noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 A leisurely walk or stroll.
"Caroline […] begged that the drive might be given up for a saunter about the gardens[…]"
- 2 a leisurely walk (usually in some public place) wordnet
- 3 A leisurely, easy pace.
"walking at a saunter"
- 4 a careless leisurely gait wordnet
- 5 A place for sauntering or strolling. obsolete
"That wheel of fops, that saunter of the town."
- 1 To stroll, or walk at a leisurely pace. intransitive
"One could lie under elm trees in a lawn, or saunter in meadows by the side of a stream."
- 2 walk leisurely and with no apparent aim wordnet
Example
More examples"After he got a girl's phone number, the guy would always saunter back to his seat."
Etymology
Etymology unclear. Attested in the sense “to stroll” from the 1660s; noun sense “a stroll” attested 1828. Likely from earlier term meaning “to muse”, late 15th century, from late Middle English santren, of unknown origin. Competing theories exist: * From Anglo-Norman sauntrer (mid 14th century), from Middle French s'aventurer (“to take risks”); however, this is considered unlikely by the OED. Compare Middle English aunter (“adventure”). * Of Germanic origin, with proposed cognates including German schlendern, Dutch slenteren, Danish slentre, Swedish släntra, and Icelandic slentur, all meaning “to stroll”. * From Old French sentier (“path”). In this case, santren would reflect earlier *sa(u)nteren, *senteren /sa(u̯)nˈteːrən/, /sɛnˈteːrən/, with Late Middle English stress shift and concomitant vowel reduction. Various fanciful folk etymologies have also been given.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.