wand

[ wond ]
See synonyms for wand on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a slender stick or rod, especially one used by a magician, conjurer, or diviner.

  2. a rod or staff carried as an emblem of one's office or authority.

  1. a slender shoot, stem, or branch of a shrub or tree.

  2. a small applicator for cosmetics, usually having a brush at the tip: She applied the mascara with a wand.

  3. U.S. Archery. a slat 6 feet (183 centimeters) by 2 inches (5 centimeters) placed at a distance of 100 yards (91 meters) for men and 60 yards (55 meters) for women, and used as a target.

  4. Also called wand reader. an electronic device, in the form of a handheld rod, that can optically read coded data, as on a merchandise label or tag or the page of a book.

Origin of wand

1
First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English, from Old Norse vǫndr; cognate with Gothic wandus

Other words from wand

  • wandlike, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use wand in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for wand

wand

/ (wɒnd) /


noun
  1. a slender supple stick or twig

  2. a thin rod carried as a symbol of authority

  1. a rod used by a magician, water diviner, etc

  2. informal a conductor's baton

  3. archery a marker used to show the distance at which the archer stands from the target

  4. a hand-held electronic device, such as a light pen or bar-code reader, which is pointed at or passed over an item to read the data stored there

Origin of wand

1
C12: from Old Norse vōndr; related to Gothic wandus and English wend

Derived forms of wand

  • wandlike, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012