wade

v. to walk through water that is deep enough to make moving difficult but not deep enough for swimming.

v. to walk through water or another liquid that impedes free movement. Often used intransitively or with the preposition 'through'.

“We had to wade across the shallow stream to reach the hiking trail.”

“The researchers had to wade through the marshy wetlands for hours to collect water samples from the remote interior pools.”

v. to spend a lot of time and effort reading or dealing with something long and boring.

v. to progress through a task, text, or situation with significant effort or difficulty. Figurative extension of the physical sense.

“It took me all weekend to wade through that long legal report.”

“The committee spent the entire afternoon trying to wade through the hundreds of public comments submitted regarding the new zoning laws.”

Informal

v. to start doing something or join a fight without thinking carefully first.

v. to intervene or attack vigorously and often without hesitation or caution. Usually followed by 'in' or 'into'.

“Before I could explain, he waded in with his own angry opinions.”

“The politician waded into the debate with a series of controversial statements that immediately polarized the audience.”

Informal · British English

n. a walk through water.

n. the act of walking through water or a similar substance.

“After a long wade through the flooded field, my boots were ruined.”

“The short wade across the creek was refreshing after a day of trekking in the summer heat.”