amble

1 of 2

verb

am·​ble ˈam-bəl How to pronounce amble (audio)
ambled; ambling ˈam-b(ə-)liŋ How to pronounce amble (audio)

intransitive verb

: to go at or as if at an easy gait : saunter
spent the day ambling through the park
ambler noun

amble

2 of 2

noun

1
a
: an easy gait of a horse in which the legs on the same side of the body move together
2
: an easy gait
3
: a leisurely walk
took a casual amble through the gardens

Examples of amble in a Sentence

Verb We ambled along as we talked. They ambled down the road. Noun we had a lovely amble about the quaint village before continuing our drive
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Afterward, Smith ambled out to the lobby and looked for Doerries. Eric Lach, The New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2024 Whitaker’s pleasantly ambling, episodic film features astounding turns from Loretta Devine and Whitney Houston. Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 29 Feb. 2024 The elephants eventually ambled away into the bush and then the guides pushed us, gondola-style, into knee-deep, three-foot-wide channels lined by Papyrus reeds. Michael Verdon, Robb Report, 28 Feb. 2024 Shaquille O’Neal ambled by the suite with about nine minutes left in the first half and created nary a stir. Josh Peter, USA TODAY, 11 Feb. 2024 Palestinian Israelis come, too, to amble through the souks of the Old City, buy traditional products like olive oil soap and gorge their way through the city’s embarrassment of rich desserts. Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 13 Dec. 2023 Steil captures the man who, from 1933 to 1948, ambled around the national stage as agriculture secretary, one-term vice president, commerce secretary, and Progressive Party presidential candidate. Heather Wilhelm, National Review, 22 Feb. 2024 The first event was last month while ambling through an oak woodland, enjoying the warm sunshine between recent storms. Ernie Cowan, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Feb. 2024 French doors with arched transom windows line the ocean-facing living room, inviting in the sea breeze and sounds of the ambling waves. Spencer Elliott, Forbes, 17 Feb. 2024
Noun
With the nonchalance of someone out for a neighborhood amble, Nikola Jokic ripped out the hearts of the Golden State Warriors with the buzzer beater of the year. Gabe Zaldivar, USA TODAY, 5 Jan. 2024 With this in mind, finding flats that provide amble support, traction, and flexibility when walking is important to ensure long-lasting comfort. Jessie Quinn, Peoplemag, 6 Jan. 2024 Just give yourself more than three days to enjoy morning cappuccinos, cannoli (the Ligurian variety), long ambles, and maybe even a game of bocce with the locals. Kasia Dietz, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 Oct. 2023 And every amble around the grounds was sidetracked by an encounter: with a lizard or a lawn swing or, once, a small plantation of bananas. Travel + Leisure Editors, Travel + Leisure, 24 June 2023 Even a short amble around a local lake or natural area is invigorating on a sunny fall day. Arricca Elin Sansone, House Beautiful, 23 June 2023 An amble through a museum. Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2021 There was the athletic-looking youth whose slow amble blocked the walking path so no one else could pass—suboptimal. Lucy Liu, WIRED, 1 Mar. 2023 Back in 2012, researchers from Sweden tied the amble to a very specific region of the genome, a single nucleotide to be exact. Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 10 Aug. 2016

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'amble.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English amblen "(of a horse) to go at an amble, go at an easy gait," borrowed from Anglo-French ambler, aumbler (in present participle amblant) (continental Old French anbler), going back to Latin ambulāre "to go on foot, walk, walk for pleasure or health, travel," from amb- "around, about" + -ulāre, probably going back to a verb base *al-, going back to Indo-European *h2elh2- "wander," whence also Umbrian amboltu "(s/he) must go around," Greek aláomai, alâsthai "to wander, roam," Latvian aluôt "to go astray" — more at ambient entry 1

Noun

Middle English ambel, in part borrowed from Middle French amble (going back to Old French, noun derivative of ambler "to amble entry 1"), in part noun derivative of amblen "to amble entry 1

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of amble was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near amble

Cite this Entry

“Amble.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/amble. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

amble

1 of 2 verb
am·​ble ˈam-bəl How to pronounce amble (audio)
ambled; ambling -b(ə-)liŋ How to pronounce amble (audio)
: to go at an amble
ambler noun

amble

2 of 2 noun
1
: an easy gait of a horse in which the legs on the same side of the body move together
2
: a leisurely way of walking
Etymology

Verb

Middle English amblen "to walk in a leisurely manner," from early French ambler (same meaning), from Latin ambulare "to walk" — related to ambulance see Word History at ambulance

More from Merriam-Webster on amble

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