wand

American  

[wond] / wɒnd /

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.

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wand British  

/ wɒnd /

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

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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

Add in a bubble-covered crown and earrings, plus a shiny prop wand?

From Los Angeles Times

No one in the administration can wave a wand and make them happen.

From Los Angeles Times

She gifted him a replica of her character’s training wand before closing out the song.

From Los Angeles Times

No magic wand or special potion is needed -- only light.

From Science Daily

Summer dormancy has turned the tall stalks of wand buckwheat brown and bare, except for tiny balls of pink flowers, but the plants should leaf out again in the spring.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• baton