plodded

verb

past tense of plod
1
as in labored
to devote serious and sustained effort plodded night and day to get the assignment done

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 plodded Minnesota’s defense has been unreliable lately, but Wisconsin’s offense has plodded most of the year. — Andy Greder, Twin Cities, 28 Nov. 2025 For months, the two initiatives plodded along, with photo ops and declarations of good will. — Jon Lee Anderson, New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2025 The Demon Deacons coach ran towards Belichick while removing his hat as the six-time Super Bowl champion coach plodded his way across the field for a blow-by handshake. — Andrew McCarty, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for plodded
  1. labored
  2. stumbled
  3. dragged
  4. shuffled
  5. struggled
  6. trudged
  7. crawled
  8. stomped
Verb
  • That doesn’t mean the subscription businesses that media companies labored to build will collapse, Cohen said.
    — Rohan Goswami, semafor.com, 7 July 2026
  • On the same pitch earlier, South Africa labored past Bangladesh by four wickets and waited for India's fate.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 28 June 2026
Definition of labored
Verb
  • One day, in Korea, near the Chosin Reservoir, his marine division stumbled into a surprise attack by a hundred thousand Chinese infantry.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 10 July 2026
  • Chipmakers have stumbled as some investors are taking profits after strong rallies.
    — John Towfighi, CNN Money, 9 July 2026
Definition of stumbled
Verb
  • Two men dragged a third into the emergency room and laid him on the floor, according to footage shown in court.
    — Matthew Ormseth, Los Angeles Times, 11 July 2026
  • His efforts dragged him into a love triangle with Annis and her former partner, Corbin Mims, which ultimately left Caleb single ahead of Casa Amor, the show’s midseason twist.
    — Tanya Fedak, Variety, 10 July 2026
Definition of dragged
Verb
  • One Wednesday evening in May, at the boutique hotel Dream Hollywood — located just off the Walk of Fame — a young hotel staff member shuffled over to her co-worker to discuss a special guest on the top floor.
    — Andrea Flores, Los Angeles Times, 7 July 2026
  • Overshadowed by the Folarin Balogun mess is how impressively Rudi Garcia shuffled his midfield and organized his tactics to perfectly counter how Mauricio Pochettino’s USMNT wanted to play.
    — Stuart James, New York Times, 7 July 2026
Definition of shuffled
Verb
  • The Mets jumped out to a 9-4 lead as KC starter Seth Lugo struggled in his return to Citi Field.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 8 July 2026
  • The Sparks struggled to transition to the basket, giving up 19 turnovers resulting in 25 free baskets.
    — Liana Handler, Los Angeles Times, 7 July 2026
Definition of struggled
Verb
  • Claus trudged to the monitor, watched the foul on an agonizing loop and promptly handed Balogun a red card.
    — Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 2 July 2026
  • The next morning a young man, who Colocousis said showed up in a Jeep with New York plates, trudged across a thin layer of snow to his doorstep.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 30 June 2026
Definition of trudged
Verb
  • Hull testified that Robinson later returned in different clothing, walking with a limp, rolled onto the roof of a building on campus and crawled to the edge of the rooftop around the time the shot was fired.
    — N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 10 July 2026
  • Their father dismounted, went down on foot, climbed the fence his son had crawled under.
    — Emily Ruskovich, The Atlantic, 7 July 2026
Definition of crawled
Verb
  • On Monday night, a 39-year-old man wearing a Spurs jersey was stomped and punched after Game 3 while walking down West 47th Street, about 15 blocks from the arena.
    — Alaa Elassar, CNN Money, 14 June 2026
  • It's been 33 years since Jurassic Park first stomped into theaters, and blockbusters haven't been the same since.
    — Huntley Woods, Entertainment Weekly, 11 June 2026
Definition of stomped

Browse Nearby Words

plod
plodded
plodder
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Plodded.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plodded. Accessed 15 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on plodded

Nglish: Translation of plodded for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 10
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
banana-mirrored
Contradictory Words Quiz Pick out which word means one thing…and the opp...
See All