as in to shift
to change one's position most babies begin to locomote—by crawling—when they are seven to ten months old

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of locomote So, those are (roughly in order) the hands, the sensory apparatus like vision and haptics and sound and so on, and the ability to locomote to get the hands to work. IEEE Spectrum, 16 May 2023 This study provides a better understanding of the interactions between the foot and the terrain and opens up to new way to design soft robots able to locomote on unstructured terrains. IEEE Spectrum, 8 May 2020 Parents of babies up to age 3 can watch their children locomote on tatami mats or haul themselves up on their jellied legs by holding on to short, fence-like partitions. New York Times, 9 June 2022 The simulated and real robots can use shape change to switch between rolling gaits and inchworm gaits, to locomote in multiple environments. IEEE Spectrum, 23 Jan. 2023 All reasonably healthy individuals can locomote at the necessary speed to beat the cutoffs for any ultramarathon. Jason Koop, Outside Online, 19 July 2017 The general idea of this research is to get robots to learn to locomote in much the way human toddlers do. Matt Simon, Wired, 5 Jan. 2021 The idea of connecting to our ancestral past requires us to locomote as we are evolved to do, using our senses and making sure the mind and body are in union. Bill Hatcher, National Geographic, 28 Feb. 2016
Recent Examples of Synonyms for locomote
Verb
  • If the city eliminates a pilot program to shift the city’s fleet of trash trucks to electric vehicles, full-service customers could pay $42.76 instead of $43.60 during the first year — with similar discounts in future years.
    David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 June 2025
  • Especially as the messaging around nonalcoholic beer has shifted to broaden its appeal, according to Dave Williams, vice president of analytics and insight for Bump Williams Consulting, a Connecticut firm that specializes in the alcoholic beverage industry.
    Bailey Schulz, USA Today, 8 June 2025
Verb
  • Some of its missiles have a range of more than 300 miles and can strike a moving ship.
    Tom Vanden Brook, USA Today, 14 June 2025
  • Trump's deportation policies have moved toward workplaces, as Immigrations and Customs Enforcement tries to reach the White House's goal of 3,000 deportations a day.
    Domenico Montanaro, NPR, 14 June 2025
Verb
  • The early symptoms include muscle weakness, cramps, twitching, stiff muscles, speech challenges, trouble swallowing, and drooling.
    Alyce Collins, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 June 2025
  • Camouflaged among desert rocks, the deadly illusionist extends its spider-like tail into the open and twitches it to summon hungry insect-eating birds.
    Ryley Graham, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Jan. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Locomote.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/locomote. Accessed 18 Jun. 2025.

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