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
  • Miller's attempt to recast the conversation about his divorce echoed efforts by other candidates who are struggling to overcome concerns about their character.
    — Lara Korte The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 18 Oct. 2026
  • But more than 40 countries currently struggling with financing and liquidity challenges do not have debt stocks that require imminent restructuring.
    — Masood Ahmed, Fortune, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of struggle
Verb
  • Resendiz finished strongly, sending Mazoudier stumbling backward in the final minute.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 18 Oct. 2026
  • Munyon's Paw-Paw, an alcoholic beverage dating to the early 1900s, has been resurrected by two longtime spirits industry veterans who stumbled upon its unusual history during a family outing.
    — Peter Burke, FOXNews.com, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of stumble
Verb
  • Season 2 picks up from where things left off, with Michael and Diana having barely arrived in Spain when they are dragged back into the fold to answer questions around Ricardo’s death.
    — Max Goldbart, Deadline, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s spokesman denied Britain was being dragged in to the conflict.
    — Jill Lawless, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of drag
Verb
  • Offensive line shuffled up Dykes said in earlier in the week that TCU looked at everything throughout the program during the 2-3 start and would make the necessary adjustments to try and turn things around.
    — Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Uribe shuffled off the mound, and the crowd at American Family Field roared.
    — Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of shuffle
Verb
  • Filmed largely on the doctors’ phones, the film offers an intimate account of the people striving to preserve life amid a devastating humanitarian crisis.
    — Leo Barraclough, Variety, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Are these trends in direct conversation with the rise in weight loss medications, as luxury customers strive to show off their new bodies?
    — Rachael Akhidenor, Vogue, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of strive
Verb
  • Why trudge through movie history, turning over every stone and every wound, in a nearly 500-page memoir?
    — Maddie Connors, Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 2026
  • The ground level would sink, the water would seep up, and the horses’ hooves would trudge through mud.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of trudge
Verb
  • In May 2025, after Williams shut off the water in a cell, 10 inmates removed a toilet, crawled through a gap in the wall and scaled a fence out of the jail.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 15 Oct. 2026
  • At the hospital, an insect fell from the girl’s shoe, and a staffer saw a cockroach crawling on her, the district attorney’s office said.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of crawl
Verb
  • At one point Evans stomps in to a Fielder secondary interview to try to stop it.
    — Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 16 Oct. 2026
  • McColley pushed Parente out onto the street and stomped his boot in the victim’s face five times, crushing Parente’s head into the pavement before fleecing his pockets and fleeing, according to the criminal complaint.
    — Rebecca White, New York Daily News, 13 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 21 Oct. 2026.

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