perambulate

American  

[per-am-byuh-leyt] / pərˈæm byəˌleɪt /

verb (used with object)

perambulated, perambulating

1. to walk through, about, or over; travel through; traverse.

2. to traverse in order to examine or inspect.

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verb (used without object)

perambulated, perambulating

1. to walk or travel about; stroll.

   Synonyms:

   ramble, meander, mosey, amble, promenade, saunter

perambulate British  

/ -trɪ, pəˈræmbjʊˌleɪt, pəˈræmbjʊlətərɪ /

verb

1. to walk about (a place)

2. (tr) to walk round in order to inspect

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Other Word Forms

• perambulation noun
• perambulatory adjective

Etymology

Origin of perambulate

First recorded in 1560–70; from Latin perambulātus, past participle of perambulāre “to walk through”; see origin at per-, ambulate

Explanation

If you're fond of strolling around your neighborhood with no special destination, you like to perambulate. When you walk for the sake of taking a walk, you perambulate. It's an old-fashioned way to describe taking an after-dinner stroll or a meander through the zoo. The Latin word at the root of perambulate is ambulare, "to walk," and the more common word amble shares this origin. Another related word is perambulator, a mainly British term for a baby carriage or stroller, which is shortened to the more familiar pram.

Example Sentences

Dear Jane Austen fans: Run, don’t perambulate, to see “Lovers’ Vows.”

From Washington Post • Nov. 11, 2019

Cleese’s habitual sardonicism notwithstanding, it’s a gentle sort of farce, tenderly played and set mostly to the speed at which the elder cast members perambulate.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 11, 2019

It doesn’t perambulate, but plummets with the graceful inevitability of a shot bird.

From New York Times • May 10, 2018

I follow Nietzsche’s dictum that “only ideas won by walking have any value” and need to perambulate to really get my mind working.

From The Guardian • Feb. 18, 2017

You turn from the Boulevard des Italiens into the Rue de la Michodière, which you perambulate until you come to number six, where you will stop and take an observation.

From My Unknown Chum by Fairbanks, Charles Bullard