muddle along
phrasal verb
muddled along; muddling along; muddles along
informal
: to think, act, or proceed in a confused way or without a plan
She muddled along for a few years before going to college.
Examples of muddle along in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
In the absence of a unique strategy story, management teams will muddle along and manage by cliché, tweaking things at the operational level, confusing new technology for new strategy, and bouncing from crisis to crisis in a form of motion without movement.
—
John G. Singer, Fortune, 15 Feb. 2024
The Middle East’s arc of conflict is spiraling After coming to office, the Biden administration muddled along in the Middle East.
—Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 31 Jan. 2024
Others fall into a rut of muddling along, a permanent socio-economic underclass the existence of which should cause the rest of us to feel shame.
—Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 21 Jan. 2024
The economy stands a good chance of muddling along.
—Philipp Carlsson-Szlezak, Fortune, 12 Oct. 2023
The recovery muddled along at a tepid pace for years.
—Jeanna Smialek, New York Times, 21 Sep. 2023
Violence in Israel puts spotlight on the ‘one-state’ reality
In the face of all this, the Biden administration is muddling along and doing little to change a dangerous status quo.
—Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 7 July 2023
Despite Orszag’s best efforts, First Republic seemed doomed to muddle along in a zombie-like state.
—Hannah Levitt, Fortune, 1 May 2023
If not, however, India will continue to muddle along, with parts of the economy doing well but the country as a whole failing to reach its potential.
—Arvind Subramanian, Foreign Affairs, 9 Dec. 2022
John G. Singer, Fortune, 15 Feb. 2024
The Middle East’s arc of conflict is spiraling After coming to office, the Biden administration muddled along in the Middle East.
—Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 31 Jan. 2024
Others fall into a rut of muddling along, a permanent socio-economic underclass the existence of which should cause the rest of us to feel shame.
—Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 21 Jan. 2024
The economy stands a good chance of muddling along.
—Philipp Carlsson-Szlezak, Fortune, 12 Oct. 2023
The recovery muddled along at a tepid pace for years.
—Jeanna Smialek, New York Times, 21 Sep. 2023
Violence in Israel puts spotlight on the ‘one-state’ reality
In the face of all this, the Biden administration is muddling along and doing little to change a dangerous status quo.
—Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 7 July 2023
Despite Orszag’s best efforts, First Republic seemed doomed to muddle along in a zombie-like state.
—Hannah Levitt, Fortune, 1 May 2023
If not, however, India will continue to muddle along, with parts of the economy doing well but the country as a whole failing to reach its potential.
—Arvind Subramanian, Foreign Affairs, 9 Dec. 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'muddle along.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near muddle along
Cite this Entry
“Muddle along.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/muddle%20along. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share