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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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 The guards on the German side see no point in firing as, in the distance, the men plod through the snow to freedom. — Thomas Doherty, HollywoodReporter, 18 July 2026 But plodding through them offers little pleasure, guilty or otherwise. — Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times, 8 June 2026 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 By all accounts, the rocket was viewed as a major success for a company that, for so long, had seemed to plod along. — Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 29 May 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
  • The Sparks struggled early, missing 12 of their first 16 shots from the field.
    — John W. Davis, Oc Register, 25 Aug. 2026
  • For now, Neda, a 34-year-old Tehran resident struggling with kidney disease and needing medication, is holding her breath as she is once again forced to buy only half of her monthly dose.
    — Leila Gharagozlou, CNN Money, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of struggle
Verb
  • The Miami Dolphins stumbled through a lopsided preseason loss to the New York Giants, sustained a key injury and continued sorting through roster questions before the season opener.
    — Jeff Kleinman, Miami Herald, 24 Aug. 2026
  • Most injuries occurred as residents were tossed from beds or stumbled in the dark; trains and airport links were briefly disrupted, a Tokyo water main burst, and hundreds lost power.
    — Mari Yamaguchi, Los Angeles Times, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of stumble
Verb
  • The multiday move lower in oil prices has also dragged bond yields lower.
    — Steve Kopack, NBC news, 26 Aug. 2026
  • The Huskies ultimately won both ends of a home-and-home series, but the second game dragged perilously into overtime.
    — Brian Hamilton, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of drag
Verb
  • Since Brian Schottenheimer lasted six years, from 2006 until 2011, the Jets have shuffled through 10 offensive coordinators (including Reich), and none lasted for more than two seasons.
    — Zack Rosenblatt, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2026
  • The line shuffles forward quickly, and my heart knots in my chest as Heartfillers are dosed to each person up ahead.
    — Carly Tagen-Dye, PEOPLE, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of shuffle
Verb
  • Perhaps that’s why the pair has striven to create fresh archetypes.
    — Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 27 Aug. 2026
  • But a home that cannot absorb something deeply meaningful is striving for taste at the expense of inauthenticity.
    — Steven Weill, Architectural Digest, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of strive
Verb
  • At Whitley Park, Newcastle’s under-21s trudge off on Monday night having lost their opening Premier League 2 match of the season.
    — Chris Waugh, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2026
  • When the final whistle ended, Messi and the rest of the men in pink trudged off the field and the silent, disappointed crowd headed to the parking lots and train station.
    — Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of trudge
Verb
  • Their only hope is for someone to crawl across the room to the spot with the most intense g-forces and turn it off.
    — Keith Phipps, Vulture, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Classicist and Roman plumbing expert Ann Olga Koloski-Ostrow suggests that private toilets might have been cut off from the municipal sewers to prevent animals crawling up the pipes and into homes.
    — Andrew Coletti, Popular Science, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of crawl
Verb
  • Their father, Jamie, always seemed to be around, smiling and shouting and stomping his feet.
    — Brady Brickner-Wood, New Yorker, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Achord bounces on his toes like an impatient little kid watching his guys work, stomps his right foot on the ground and vaults his right arm forward to demonstrate how someone should return a kick.
    — Matt Schneidman, New York Times, 25 Aug. 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 30 Aug. 2026.

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