What does "wade" mean?
An act of wading.
Wade
/weɪd/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An act of wading.
- Grammar: wade is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: bathe, crossing, dive, enter.
- Useful contrasts: avoid involvement, breeze through, bridge.
- Usage evidence: Adopting a child is a tough decision with plenty of bureaucracy to wade through.
How to use "wade"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "wade" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "wade" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "wade" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "wade" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "wade" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "bathe" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "wade", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An act of wading.
"We had to be careful during our dangerous wade across the river."
- 2 Obsolete form of woad. alt-of, obsolete, uncountable
"Woad or Wade is a very rich Commodity"
- 3 A ford; a place to cross a river. colloquial
Verb
- 1 To walk through water or something that impedes progress. intransitive
"So eagerly the fiend […] / With head, hands, wings, or feet, pursues his way, / And swims, or sinks, or wades, or creeps, or flies."
- 2 walk (through relatively shallow water) wordnet
- 3 To progress with difficulty. intransitive
"to wade through a dull book"
- 4 To walk through (water or similar impediment); to pass through by wading. transitive
"wading swamps and rivers"
- 5 To gleam intermittently through clouds or mist.
"I saw my Meg come linking o'er the lee; I saw my Meg, but Maggy saw nae me: For yet the sun was wading through the mist, And she was close upon me ere she wist."
Show 1 more definition
- 6 To enter recklessly. intransitive
"to wade into a fight or a debate"
Proper Noun
- 1 A topographic surname from Old English.
- 2 A male given name transferred from the surname.
"In due time, Charles' son was born and, because it was fashionable to name boys after their fathers' commanding officers, he was called Wade Hampton Hamilton."
- 3 A system of romanization for the Chinese language based on 19th-century Pekingese pronunciation, worked out by Thomas Wade.
- 4 A number of places in the United States:; A town in Aroostook County, Maine.
- 5 A number of places in the United States:; A census-designated place in Jackson County, Mississippi.
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 A number of places in the United States:; A town in Cumberland County, North Carolina.
- 7 A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Washington County, Ohio.
- 8 A number of places in the United States:; Two townships in Illinois, in Clinton County and Jasper County.
Antonyms
Example
"Adopting a child is a tough decision with plenty of bureaucracy to wade through."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "wade"?
Common synonyms include: bathe, crossing, dive, enter, float, ford.
How do you use "wade" in a sentence?
Adopting a child is a tough decision with plenty of bureaucracy to wade through.
How do you pronounce "wade"?
Pronounced /weɪd/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English waden, from Old English wadan, from Proto-West Germanic *wadan, from Proto-Germanic *wadaną (“to go, pass through”), from Proto-Indo-European *weh₂dʰ- (“to go”). Cognates include Saterland Frisian waadje (“to wade”), West Frisian wâdzje (“to wade”), Dutch waden (“to wade”), German Low German waden (“to wade”), German waten (“to wade”), Danish vade (“to wade”), Swedish vada (“to wade”), Icelandic vaða (“to wade”), and Latin vādō (“go, walk; rush”).
Etymology 2
From Old English wæd (“a ford”).