wade

wade — verb

1. to walk with effort through water, mud, or another thick liquid that reaches at

1.verbintransitiveB1
Definition

to walk with effort through water, mud, or another thick liquid that reaches at least partway up your legs

Example

Christopher waded through the flooded path to reach his grandmother's house.

collocation: wade through [substance]

After the storm, Rania had to wade through knee-deep mud to get to the bus stop.

pattern: wade through + measure + [substance]

Common collocations
  • wade through
  • wade across
  • wade into
  • knee-deep
  • waist-deep
Synonyms
  • paddle

    suggests walking in very shallow water for pleasure rather than effort

  • ford

    specifically means crossing a river on foot; more formal and less common

Grammar Patterns

wade + through/across/into + [substance]

Usage Note

The substance being waded through is usually named with through or across. Depth is often described with a body-part measure (knee-deep, waist-deep).

Common Mistakes

He waded the river in five minutes.
He waded across the river in five minutes.
wade is intransitive and requires a preposition before the body of water.

2. to spend time moving around in shallow water, usually for fun or to cool yoursel

2.verbintransitiveB1
Definition

to spend time moving around in shallow water, usually for fun or to cool yourself down

Example

The children waded in the warm sea water as the sun began to set over the coast.

wade in [body of water] for leisure

Hoa waded barefoot along the edge of the lake, collecting smooth stones for her collection.

Common collocations
  • wade in
  • wade along
  • barefoot
  • shallow water
  • tide pools
Synonyms
  • paddle

    more common in British English for walking barefoot in shallow water; implies play rather than movement

Grammar Patterns

wade + in/along + [body of water]

Usage Note

This sense emphasises enjoyment rather than necessity. The water is shallow enough that walking requires no special effort, and barefoot is common in descriptions. Distinguish from sense 1 (WALK THROUGH WATER), where the focus is on effort and crossing.

Phrasal verbs

wade in

phrasal verb

To start doing something difficult or unpleasant with determination.

Maya waded in to help clean up the messy kitchen.

When the argument got heated, Diego waded in to calm everyone down.

wade into

phrasal verb

To become involved in a situation or discussion, often forcefully.

The journalist waded into the debate with strong opinions.

Sara waded into the crowd to find her lost child.

wade through

phrasal verb

To read or deal with a large amount of boring or difficult material.

Brian waded through hundreds of pages of legal documents.

We had to wade through a pile of emails before lunch.

wade — noun

Word family

  • wader
    nounB2
  • wading
    adjectiveB1

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

Wade, paddle, ford, and splash all involve moving through water on foot, but they differ in effort and purpose. Wade suggests effort through water that reaches at least mid-calf, often to cross or reach something — 'We waded through the flooded street.' Paddle (chiefly British) means walking barefoot in very shallow water for pleasure, not for crossing — 'The children paddled at the water's edge.' Ford is a formal verb used specifically for crossing a river at a shallow spot, often by vehicle or on foot — 'The truck forded the river at low tide.' Splash focuses on the sound and movement of water being thrown about, usually playfully and in shallow water — 'Kids splashed in the puddles after the rain.' For a sense of effort and purposeful movement through deeper water, wade is the right choice.

wade ↗paddleford ↗splash ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • knee-deep in
  • waist-deep in
  • up to one's ankles in

Prepositions

Etymology

Proto-Indo-EuropeanGermanicOld EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

Wade comes from Old English wadan, meaning 'to go forward, to move, to advance,' which can be traced back to the Proto-Indo-European root *weh₂dʰ- meaning 'to go.' The specific sense of walking through water emerged in early Middle English. Related words in other Germanic languages include Old Norse vaða and Gothic wadan, both carrying the idea of moving through a resisting medium.