verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
sb’s attention wanders (= sb stops listening, watching etc carefully )
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During the service, her mind began to wander.
wander/browse around the shops
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I spent a happy afternoon wandering around the shops.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
aimlessly
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He wandered aimlessly on from one squalid street to another.
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By wandering aimlessly , all places became equal, and it no longer mattered where he was.
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She wandered aimlessly along until a red and silver taxi cruised past.
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One night, he stumbled out of his house in the Los Gatos hills, wandering aimlessly .
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Charles wandered aimlessly through Leicester Square to Piccadilly.
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A few years ago my friend Tim Hult and I spent one steamy-hot and jet-lagged afternoon wandering aimlessly around Bangkok.
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He'd done no more than accidentally bump against some sailors aimlessly wandering from the passage next to the warehouse.
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The ride back to the city seemed interminable, and he found himself wandering aimlessly .
through
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Jessamy picked them up, wandered through to the kitchen and put them on the table.
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She leaves the coach and wanders through fields for many miles until between trees she sees a deep black pool of water.
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Finally he wandered through into the kitchen, pulled off his jacket and draped it over the back of a chair.
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His mind used to wander through that garden as if exploring a new world born from a collision of stars.
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Eric wandered through , he of the seagull, with a book.
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He wandered through the station, then, as if inside the body of Paul Auster, waiting for Stillman to appear.
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A unique collection for research, and a place people can wander through for peace and tranquility.
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I began to wander through the room from object to object.
■ NOUN
attention
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But then, it seems, their attention wandered .
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The staff would provide him with toys to amuse himself with when his attention began to wander .
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So much discussion of disruption loses its way with attention wandering from one priority to another.
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Wickham had heard all this before and his attention wandered .
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During the sermon Sarah's attention wandered .
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He leaned back and allowed his attention to wander .
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Her attention didn't wander one bit.
child
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Other children were left to wander home in the dark.
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BWithout alarm clocks or anyone to wake them up, the children often wander into class late.
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Ducks, sheep, donkeys and children wander along the alleyways.
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Her parents would have been children when he wandered past their door.
city
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I wandered ail over the city , getting lost then finding myself again where I had started.
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For two days I wandered through the city .
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Guks spent the afternoon wandering about the city , looking at the bombed buildings, avoiding groups of soldiers.
corridor
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He missed wandering about the corridors but the thought of walking made his feet throb and ache even more.
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At six, I wandered out into the corridor .
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He wandered along the brighter corridors near Nettles looking for a good place to plant his seeds.
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He shakes his head again in horror and wanders back along the corridor in silence.
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It seemed Blunset was still wandering through the corridors and Endill looked forward to their next meeting.
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So I wandered round the corridors of Hampton Court.
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The Doctor had wandered along a shadowy corridor .
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Could I really be replaced so easily, I wondered as I left the toilets and wandered out into the corridor .
desert
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For six years you wander the desert from level to pale level.
garden
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The next day they wandered out of the kitchen garden .
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His mind used to wander through that garden as if exploring a new world born from a collision of stars.
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Henry lets me wander in her garden .
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The twins had wandered out of the rectory garden and had been missing for twenty minutes.
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They wandered parks and gardens and fed already overfed white pigeons in the Plaza de América.
gaze
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It ceased abruptly and her gaze left his to wander down his body, stopping only to rest upon his nakedness.
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Yet when he spoke of himself, his gaze frequently wandered , as though in search of visual ballast.
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Tallis watched them, then let her gaze wander along the stark crags and jutting masonry walls.
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Her gaze wandered back to Marcus's.
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His gaze wandered around her little studio flat.
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His gaze wandered over the flags, tapestries and shields adorning the walls.
house
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We'd wander round the house as we rambled conversationally.
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Otis was wandering around the house with a miniature billiard ball in his mouth.
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George let his mind wander over the House .
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I wonder whether any of the clapboard houses I wander past is the house where it happened, where All killed herself.
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You wander about the house like a soul in torment.
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He was talking to one of his girlfriends, wandering the house , phone to his ear.
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The two-year-old wandered out the house at dawn dressed in mum Michelle's high heels and nightie.
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Paul wandered around the house a lot these days.
kitchen
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The next day they wandered out of the kitchen garden.
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She wandered into the kitchen , pleased with her work, relieved too that Luke didn't seem to be about.
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He wandered out into the kitchen and took a pint of milk from the fridge, supping straight from the bottle.
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Jessamy picked them up, wandered through to the kitchen and put them on the table.
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He wandered into the kitchen , where he found a freshly-brewed pot of tea.
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She studied the envelopes as she wandered into the kitchen to make breakfast.
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Finally he wandered through into the kitchen , pulled off his jacket and draped it over the back of a chair.
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I wandered into the kitchen and made some coffee.
mind
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George let his mind wander over the House.
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His mind used to wander through that garden as if exploring a new world born from a collision of stars.
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His mind and spirit wandered far from the crowd of contemporary detail.
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I pause, my mind wandering , when out of the haze of heat and depression I notice the name Liliane.
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Jean tried to concentrate as he went on with his list of symptoms, but her mind kept wandering elsewhere.
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He began to read the story, but his mind wandered .
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Thus occupied on this repetitive job, the mind is free to wander and daydream.
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Each time the mind wanders it is gently brought back to the repetition.
path
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Soon she grew bored with watching and wandered away down the path towards the road.
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Yolanda and Jose, partners, wander far from the path that cuts through the grove.
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Jane had only found the place by wandering from the path and getting lost.
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He wandered down the wrong path .
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We wander down the paths the students have created and lined with wood chips.
road
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George Borrow was to wander many roads before being invited back to his father's home county.
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All of us seemed to wander down the road , but we wandered purposefully.
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You wander hopelessly along the road , then, frightened, back into the village.
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They remind you of a bunch of schoolboys wandering down a lonely road , kicking a ball along.
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Before she knew where she was going, she'd wandered to the road .
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A distraction may cause it to wander off into the road , with fatal consequences.
room
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The house seemed to put comforting arms around her, as she wandered from room to room.
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Christine wanders back into the room .
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Supposedly, he wandered into a darkened room and banged his head on a cupboard.
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But give them a math problem, and they wander around the room , daydream, or fidget.
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Some of the crime is committed by opportunists who wander into students rooms and take cash and credit cards.
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I wandered to the back room .
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He pushed his chair back and wandered around the room .
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Sun-bleached surfers rub elbows at the bar, and stray toddlers wander through the dining rooms .
street
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However much she may enjoy such pursuits, there will be times when she would actually rather wander the streets unaccompanied.
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They seldom wander past the streets and neighborhoods they know.
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Male speaker I fear for Birmingham with this madman let loose, wandering around the streets frightening the children.
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Charles wandered the streets in a daze.
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Children as young as 2 or 3 wander the streets alone.
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In the meantime, he wandered the streets , wheeling an oxygen tank he needed to treat his emphysema, Ewing said.
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I'd wander down the high street , frittering away on whatever took my fancy.
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Chickens and roosters wander the streets like they own the place.
thought
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Susan let her shaping thoughts wander around the Temple.
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His thoughts seemed to wander out of control ... They were watching him.
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In normal circumstances, Melissa would have found him stimulating company but that evening she found her thoughts constantly wandering .
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At this point, as often happened, his thoughts wandered off into irrelevant philosophical channels.
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At the thought two miserable tears wandered down her face.
town
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In the evening, some of Major and Mrs Parker's guests wandered off into town .
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Only poor artisans, likewise, carried all their gear on their backs and wandered through towns and countryside looking for work.
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Having found a comfortable Gasthof in the suburb of Spitalhof, I passed a few hours wandering the old town .
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Every time you looked up, there seemed to be some former Soviet republic wandering into town for a match.
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After they left the café they wandered round the town for a while longer, but Claudia began to feel very weary.
village
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He wandered out of the village and up the mountain, weeping and wondering what he could possibly do.
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I wandered through a poverty-stricken village in the countryside, flies swarming over me under a baking sun.
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Nearby, at Buckler's Hard, we wandered in the village where Lord Nelson's wooden warships were built.
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Charles wandered slowly up the village street in search of his valise.
wilderness
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The prince wandered the wilderness for many years.
wood
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That, his day's toil having been deferred, he wanders through unfamiliar woods with unsure footsteps.
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For ten years they wandered in those woods searching for a lost treasure.
■ VERB
allow
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He needn't think he was going to be allowed to wander .
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Just imagine, if you can, if the flesh of this country were allowed to wander around promiscuously!
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There was no way he could allow Boris to wander round unguarded with plates of zakuski.
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The chairman must not allow the discussion to wander into other subjects unless there is a direct relevance.
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When she had finished, she allowed her eyes to wander round the area of the altar.
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The Lady Amelia would never allow you to go wandering off by yourself.
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As you explore your hand, allow your mind to wander over the significance of all its markings.
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Physical safety might include not being allowed to wander into dangerous surroundings, or to bathe in scalding hot water.
find
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I found myself wandering round with a wry smile on my face and occasionally bursting into laughter at my own presumption.
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A man found her wandering around and took her to the park ranger, who called the police.
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She found herself wandering , thinking about Pet.
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The ride back to the city seemed interminable, and he found himself wandering aimlessly.
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Usually, I find myself wandering half-heartedly around the rails hoping some fabulous garment will leap out and grab me.
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The king, trying to find the falcon, wandered in the castle.
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She was found wandering at a golf course, near Stockport, Cheshire, on Monday.
keep
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People like Billy Crystal and Spike Lee kept wandering in.
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I felt there must be something wrong with me, and I kept wandering .
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He keeps wandering into minor subplots, about a flamenco dancer and a dancing doctors demonstration.
let
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Henry lets me wander in her garden.
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It is a ship to let your eyes wander over, from the lovely carpets to the decorative ceilings.
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It was definitely not a night to let a friend wander around in a drunken stupor searching for his car.
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Susan let her shaping thoughts wander around the Temple.
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George let his mind wander over the House.
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Male speaker I fear for Birmingham with this madman let loose, wandering around the streets frightening the children.
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Tallis watched them, then let her gaze wander along the stark crags and jutting masonry walls.
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Handlers guided it down the ramp with ropes and then let it wander away rather unsteadily.
spend
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Eve had spent the day wandering around Dublin with a heavy heart.
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I told him about the couple of hours I had spent wandering around Copacabana Beach.
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Guks spent the afternoon wandering about the city, looking at the bombed buildings, avoiding groups of soldiers.
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He spent his days wandering around the rugby pitches doing nothing and refused to return to his cottage.
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Explorer-anthropologist Martin Gray has spent 12 years wandering through 800 sacred sites scattered around the globe.
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The afternoon was spent in Winchester wandering around the shops and going to the cathedral.
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He spends his nights wandering around the streets of Gloucester offering them blankets and hot soup.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
sb's mind wanders
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I'm sorry, my mind was wandering. What did you say?
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
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After dinner Carol left the hotel to wander the crowded streets.
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For an hour and a half we wandered around the old city, totally lost.
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She may have wandered off and become lost.
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We wandered along the river bank, looking for a place to cross.
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With their parents at work, the kids are left to wander the streets.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
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But the gates were open, and she wandered in, seeking shade.
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He wandered an area of refrigerated warehouses with old dual-gauge tracks intersecting on the cobbled streets.
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I'd wander down the high street, frittering away on whatever took my fancy.
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She wandered into the kitchen, pleased with her work, relieved too that Luke didn't seem to be about.
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She leaves the coach and wanders through fields for many miles until between trees she sees a deep black pool of water.
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Then she wanders the deserted basement halls.
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We wandered on, leaving the mules to catch up.