wade
verb · noun
Simple meaning
To walk through water or something that impedes progress.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
waydIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈweɪd
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
Walk (through relatively shallow water)
“Can we wade across the river to the other side?”
intransitive
To walk through water or something that impedes progress.
transitive
To walk through (water or similar impediment); to pass through by wading.
intransitive
To progress with difficulty.
of the sun or moon
To gleam intermittently through clouds or mist.
intransitive
To enter recklessly.
noun
An act of wading.
A system of romanization for the Chinese language based on 19th-century Pekingese pronunciation, worked out by Thomas Wade.
A number of places in the United States
Two townships in Illinois, in Clinton County and Jasper County.
colloquial
A ford; a place to cross a river.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Walk (through relatively shallow water)
Used this way, wade is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“Can we wade across the river to the other side?”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use wade
- “Can we wade across the river to the other side?”verb
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.