WAND Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com (original) (raw)

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.
3. a slender shoot, stem, or branch of a shrub or tree.
4. a small applicator for cosmetics, usually having a brush at the tip.

   She applied the mascara with a wand.

5. 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.
6. 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.

noun

1. a slender supple stick or twig
2. a thin rod carried as a symbol of authority
3. a rod used by a magician, water diviner, etc
4. informal a conductor's baton
5. archery a marker used to show the distance at which the archer stands from the target
6. 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

"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

Other Word Forms

• wandlike adjective

Etymology

Origin of wand

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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

You can’t wave a magic wand and get it done.

FromSalon • May 1, 2026

The good and bad news is there’s no magic wand, as that means the answers are accessible to you too.

FromMarketWatch • Apr. 29, 2026

"We are bending backwards to help but we don't have a magic wand," she said, calling on African governments to help with tax breaks and investments of their own.

FromBarron's • Apr. 24, 2026

Cillian Murphy also shot down rumblings earlier this year when he was asked if he was swapping his flat cap for a wand.

FromBBC • Apr. 10, 2026

Wands allow them to see Remarkable things as well, but once the magic in the wand runs out, they lose any magical abilities.

From"The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.