as in to shift
to change one's position
most babies begin to locomote—by crawling—when they are seven to ten months old
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
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 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 simulated and real robots can use shape change to switch between rolling gaits and inchworm gaits, to locomote in multiple environments.
—IEEE Spectrum, 11 Dec. 2020
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 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
New York Times, 9 June 2022
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 simulated and real robots can use shape change to switch between rolling gaits and inchworm gaits, to locomote in multiple environments.
—IEEE Spectrum, 11 Dec. 2020
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 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
-
The tobacco trials — which took place over decades but began to shift in favor of plaintiffs in the ’90s — similarly saw various types of plaintiffs file a wave of lawsuits, contributing to the release of internal documents and testing new legal theories.—
Clare Duffy,
CNN Money,
22 Feb. 2026
-
The staff welcomed me immediately, opening the doors with genuine warmth that shifted my mood entirely.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
22 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Montage founder, Alan Fuerstman, personally moves into every new property for its first month of operations to ensure the brand’s signature five-star service is up to snuff.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
20 Feb. 2026
-
The players could feel the former United and Wales winger starting to move up the gears.—
Andy Mitten,
New York Times,
20 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The film uses music, the clippity-clop of hooves and twitching furry ears for her three donkeys — Palaye, Ruperto, Palomo — to surf critical acclaim on the film festival circuit to the upcoming Academy Awards.—
Etan Vlessing,
HollywoodReporter,
19 Feb. 2026
-
Baby Briana’s arms twitched and legs flopped against cold concrete.—
Jayme Fraser,
USA Today,
4 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Locomote.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/locomote. Accessed 24 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
