lumbering 1 of 2

adjective

1
as in shambling

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2
as in plodding

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lumbering

2 of 2

verb

present participle of lumber
1
as in shuffling
to move heavily or clumsily the elephant lumbered through the jungle

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2
as in stumbling
to proceed or act clumsily or ineffectually the novel's plot lumbers to its predictable conclusion after 500 long pages

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3
as in rumbling
to make a low heavy rolling sound the horse-drawn wagon lumbered along the trail

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4
as in loading
to place a weight or burden on preparations that will lumber the expedition with unnecessary equipment and supplies

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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 lumbering
Adjective
The Cubs players continued to taunt Ruth at every opportunity, and a big one came their way in the bottom of the fourth inning when Jurges slashed a sinking liner into right field and the lumbering, top-heavy Babe muffed a shoestring catch. — Literary Hub, 8 June 2026
Verb
Kaishu Sano gave the Samurai Blue the lead in the 29th minute with his first international goal, swooping past a lumbering Casemiro before firing low to goalkeeper Alisson’s right from the edge of the box. — David Hickey, NBC news, 30 June 2026 The invaders’ command-and-control systems were lumbering even before Ukraine began attacking them in earnest. — Phillips Payson O’Brien, The Atlantic, 30 June 2026 Kyle Schwarber was lumbering toward home plate. — Jayson Stark, New York Times, 26 June 2026 The sight of the lumbering actor wearing track clothes and sitting cross-legged while listening to a soothing relaxation tape on headphones is priceless. — Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 22 June 2026 The tractor was still lumbering forward but without me attached to it. — Literary Hub, 22 June 2026 Flocks of tourists maneuvered around lumbering delivery trucks, hawked to by distributors of seemingly unlicensed 2026 Knicks championship gear. — Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 18 June 2026 These flights from Perth to Sri Lanka and on to London (in four days) were, made from 1943 to 1945 using lumbering PBY Catalina flying boats. — Michael Goldstein, Forbes.com, 18 June 2026 Ahead, a wildlife expert shares effective ways to deter these lumbering visitors. — Michelle Mastro, Martha Stewart, 13 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lumbering
  1. shambling
  2. plodding
  3. shuffling
  4. stumbling
  5. rumbling
  6. loading
  7. wobbly
  8. cumbersome
Adjective
  • With almost no plan, Sonny makes a shambling attempt at an armed robbery, only to end up trapped in the bank with the manager and five female tellers as his hostages.
    — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 31 Mar. 2026
  • One rarely gains a sense of what people look like (beyond the son’s bulky physique and shambling movements, in which the mother ‘caught a flash of her brother’).
    — Dan Sheehan, Literary Hub, 22 Jan. 2026
Definition of shambling
Adjective
  • Brunson was too small (6-foot-2), not long enough (with a 6-foot-4 wingspan) and too plodding.
    — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 3 June 2026
  • Neither is known for having much of an off-the-dribble game that could hurt the plodding Porzingis or Horford.
    — Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 17 Apr. 2026
Definition of plodding
Verb
  • Burke piles fascinating shuffling sounds on top, invoking a quiet scuffle, maybe some cardboard boxes being knocked over in a storage space.
    — Jayson Greene, Pitchfork, 14 July 2026
  • The Chicago Cubs have been shuffling the lower levels of their organization ahead of the trade deadline, looking to recapture some strong momentum from the beginning of the season to help drive a playoff push in the second half.
    — Peter Chawaga, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026
Definition of shuffling
Verb
  • The huge animals knocked bodies to the cobblestones, and stumbling runners caused several pileups during the two-and-a-half-minute run from the pen to the bull ring where bullfighters will kill the bulls later in the day.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 11 July 2026
  • The huge animals knocked down bodies to the cobblestones, and stumbling runners caused several pileups during the 2½-minute run from the pen to the bullring where bullfighters would kill the bulls later in the day.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 11 July 2026
Definition of stumbling
Verb
  • This ground beef casserole will satisfy all the rumbling stomachs at your table.
    — Sheena Chihak, Better Homes & Gardens, 3 July 2026
  • The house sits on a road tucked alongside a steep railroad embankment, where tracks carry rumbling trains to a rail yard in the village of fewer than 1,000 residents.
    — Julie Carr Smyth, Los Angeles Times, 2 July 2026
Definition of rumbling
Verb
  • Riyadh has been diverting about four million barrels a day of crude oil from their east-west pipeline over to Yanbu, loading tankers, many of which are going out the Red Sea, data provided by Lipow showed.
    — Lee Ying Shan,Sam Meredith, CNBC, 14 July 2026
  • Add 1 cup of hydrogen peroxide to the washer drum or the automatic bleach dispenser before loading white clothes into the washer.
    — Mary Marlowe Leverette, The Spruce, 14 July 2026
Definition of loading
Adjective
  • Fewer and fewer companies offer pensions, however, making that stool increasingly wobbly.
    — Trina Paul,Dan Avery, CNBC, 10 July 2026
  • June’s tepid hiring comes after a relative surge in job gains the previous three months, countering concerns that the war in Iran could trip up an already wobbly labor market.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 9 July 2026
Definition of wobbly
Adjective
  • That access is being strangled by an old and cumbersome permitting process for electrical transmission.
    — Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 13 July 2026
  • Before that, an early version relied on a physical switch on the side of the ECU, a cumbersome setup that meant popping the hood, removing trim, and flipping a switch.
    — Peter Nelson, ArsTechnica, 10 July 2026
Definition of cumbersome

Browse Nearby Words

lumberers
lumbering
lumberjack
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Cite this Entry

“Lumbering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lumbering. Accessed 17 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on lumbering

Nglish: Translation of lumbering for Spanish Speakers

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