shamble

verb

sham·​ble ˈsham-bəl 

shambled; shambling ˈsham-b(ə-)liŋ 

intransitive verb

: to walk awkwardly with dragging feet : shuffle

shamble noun

Synonyms

• barge
• clump
• flog [British]
• flounder
• galumph
• lumber
• lump
• plod
• pound
• scuff
• scuffle
• shuffle
• slog
• slough
• stamp
• stomp
• stumble
• stump
• tramp
• tromp
• trudge

Examples of shamble in a Sentence

He shambled into the room.

disconsolate and exhausted after losing the match, the wrestler shambled toward the locker room

Recent Examples on the Web

One nickname — Zombie tranq — reflects shambling from deep sedation. —Pat Beall, Orlando Sentinel, 19 Jan. 2025

Its ambling, shambling tour of crashing parties, crashing on available couches, and reluctantly crashing your way into maturity, one misadventure at a time, is not a bug but a feature here. —David Fear, Rolling Stone, 9 May 2024

The cultural preoccupation with zombies shambles on in The Last of Us and other movies and video games. —Neda Ulaby, NPR, 1 Apr. 2024

To this end, the new generation of morticians (another neologism meant to conjure expertise) bought up shambling Victorian mansions in swish residential districts and invented a new form of comfort. —Dan Piepenbring, Harper's Magazine, 2 Feb. 2024

Word History

Etymology

shamble bowed, malformed

First Known Use

1717, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for shamble

• amble
• bramble
• gamble
• ramble
• scramble
• preamble

Kids Definition

shamble

verb

sham·​ble ˈsham-bəl 

shambled; shambling -b(ə-)liŋ 

: to walk awkwardly with dragging feet : shuffle

shamble noun