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

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

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

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

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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
  • The former offices of the saltpeter mines, which produced the main ingredients used in gunpowder and fertilizer, evoke the past, when thousands of people labored at processing caliche, a nitrate-bearing rock.
    — Cristina Dorador, The Dial, 14 July 2026
  • That doesn’t mean the subscription businesses that media companies labored to build will collapse, Cohen said.
    — Rohan Goswami, semafor.com, 7 July 2026
Definition of labored
Verb
  • Lundgren got out from the driver’s side of the vehicle, stumbled across the opposing lane of traffic, and leaped over the side of the bridge into Table Rock Lake below, the sheriff said.
    — Dennis Romero, NBC news, 22 July 2026
  • Evans stumbled into it and is still visibly working out what to do with it.
    — Ian Shepherd, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026
Definition of stumbled
Verb
  • Who dragged bags of footballs onto the field before practice?
    — Alec Lewis, New York Times, 24 July 2026
  • While that shutdown ostensibly ended in mid-November, a partial government shutdown dragged on through April, snarling the Department of Homeland Security and causing long delays and confusion at airports across the country.
    — Drew Pittock, USA Today, 23 July 2026
Definition of dragged
Verb
  • Black voters were shuffled around Houston, with much of the previous 9th Congressional District becoming the new 18th District.
    — Rahul Mukherjee, NPR, 23 July 2026
  • Several writers have also shuffled in and out of the project.
    — Mekishana Pierre, Entertainment Weekly, 20 July 2026
Definition of shuffled
Verb
  • The 17 passengers and crew who lived told investigators everyone survived the landing, but many passengers struggled to locate life vests and the crew had a difficult time pulling out life rafts.
    — Landon Mion, FOXNews.com, 22 July 2026
  • Brayden Burries, Bucks While most of the vaunted crop of rookie guards from the NCAA ranks struggled, Burries was a glaring exception.
    — John Hollinger, New York Times, 22 July 2026
Definition of struggled
Verb
  • The Phillies and Mets, meanwhile, trudged through tough conditions in New York’s 4-1 road win last night.
    — Chris Branch, New York Times, 17 July 2026
  • Frost trudged through the sand and allowed De Lander, an Australian native, to get in touch with the Atlantic Ocean.
    — Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 15 July 2026
Definition of trudged
Verb
  • Flash flood warnings were then issued again for New York City and nearby states as thunderstorms crawled across the region on Tuesday afternoon and evening.
    — Andrew Freedman, CNN Money, 23 July 2026
  • 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
Definition of crawled
Verb
  • Cece got out of bed, put on a pair of fuzzy pink slippers, and stomped to her mother’s office.
    — Jessica Contrera, New Yorker, 13 July 2026
  • Thornton stomped around the mound, flexing and screaming in celebration.
    — Patrick Mooney, New York Times, 12 July 2026
Definition of stomped

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Cite this Entry

“Plodded.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plodded. Accessed 27 Jul. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of plodded for Spanish Speakers

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