plod

verb

ˈpläd How to pronounce plod (audio)
Definition of plodnext
1
as in to struggle
to devote serious and sustained effort plodded night and day to get the assignment done

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to stumble
to proceed or act clumsily or ineffectually oxen plodding through deep mud

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to drag
to move slowly plodded reluctantly off to work

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in to shuffle
to move heavily or clumsily wayfarers plodding across the sandy wastes

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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 plod Loaded trucks plodded through the crowd with people in their cargo beds throwing tomatoes at the revelers — who, in turn, hurled them at one another. — ABC News, 26 Aug. 2026 Santa, who was heavy and plodding with bad knees, couldn’t keep up as Gayle tailed this man through an alleyway. — Wilbert L. Cooper, Longreads, 25 Aug. 2026 Events plod forward, one after the other, and although Michael Shaeffer is a thoroughly compelling presence as the cruel and chronically unstable monarch Aerys, other performances seem nuance-free. — Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 10 Aug. 2026 That optionality may be more enticing for New York than just signing a plodding third center. — Tom Rende, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for plod
Recent Examples of Synonyms for plod
  1. struggle
  2. stumble
  3. drag
  4. shuffle
  5. strive
  6. trudge
  7. crawl
  8. stomp
Verb
  • But even when Antetokounmpo was on the court in the second half, the Heat struggled.
    — Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 25 Oct. 2026
  • The high prices are adding to pain for cattle ranchers in western states, who were already struggling with persistent drought.
    — Anna King, NPR, 25 Oct. 2026
Definition of struggle
Verb
  • Johnson had nothing but space, and stumbled to make one move before reaching the end zone for his first career touchdown.
    — Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 2 Nov. 2026
  • After stumbling into an intro to acting class, the 28-year-old quickly caught the professor’s attention.
    — Carly Thomas, HollywoodReporter, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of stumble
Verb
  • Difficulties dragging the Tyler Technologies project over the finish line dogged Preckwinkle throughout the primary.
    — A.D. Quig, Chicago Tribune, 4 Nov. 2026
  • No evidence of foul play was discovered, though the investigation dragged on.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of drag
Verb
  • Findings of no effect tend to either be shuffled off to low-profile journals or left behind as unpublished lab lore.
    — ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 2 Nov. 2026
  • For the most part, this was a second consecutive solid performance by a group that will likely undergo major personnel shuffling all season.
    — Chris Perkins, Sun Sentinel, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of shuffle
Verb
  • Here’s the feckless poor, here’s the striving poor, here’s the oblivious cheerful poor, here’s the drug addict, here’s the drunk.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 2 Nov. 2026
  • UConn Women’s Basketball is proud to play in our Basketball is for Everyone Pride game and strives for a culture of inclusion and equity.
    — Kels Dayton, Hartford Courant, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of strive
Verb
  • There were tent camps on both sides of the border, caravans of people trudging through Central America and concerns about newcomers overwhelming social services.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 29 Oct. 2026
  • Cross over North Figueroa Street, and trudge up the hill before you, which has an average grade of about 15%.
    — Jaclyn Cosgrove, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of trudge
Verb
  • However, a new type of gut-crawling worm being designed by engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), may actually be here to help.
    — Mack DeGeurin, Popular Science, 29 Oct. 2026
  • Firefighters bravely crawled past the fire before hoses reached it to pull the five family members out.
    — Kerry Burke, New York Daily News, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of crawl
Verb
  • Kylie Minogue had a massive moment in custom metallic Bared boots onstage for the AFL Grand Final, while Alix Earle opted for the brand’s Hillstar boots in black leather to stomp around the Coachella fairgrounds back in April.
    — Maggie Clancy, Footwear News, 28 Oct. 2026
  • His creator, an unnamed basket-weaver (Peter Dinklage), braided him as a mate for a lonely virgin, a fisherwoman (Olivia Colman) who stomps around her rustic village smelling like sushi and tossing her head back in an Eliza Doolittle guffaw.
    — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of stomp

Browse Nearby Words

plinths
plod
plodded
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Cite this Entry

“Plod.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plod. Accessed 5 Nov. 2026.

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