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
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
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Example Sentences
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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
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
Verb
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Stephen Kolek labored through the first three innings for Kansas City, delivering 55 pitches and allowing six baserunners, but stranded four.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
10 June 2026
-
Introduced in the 1970s, when the country labored under a military dictatorship, the policy sought to impose a ‘Brazil-first’ approach to new developments in computing and data-processing.—
Kamal Ahmed,
Fortune,
4 June 2026
Verb
-
Weiss, best known for her work as an opinion journalist and the launch of her site The Free Press, has stumbled in her new role in large part due to a lack of experience with TV operations.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
9 June 2026
-
In the fall of 1995, hunters stumbled on Josette’s bones in the woods near rural Carmel, an hour north of the Bronx.—
Paul Solotaroff,
Rolling Stone,
9 June 2026
Verb
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Even fever can’t keep him down, as the 27-year-old dragged himself off the bench at half-time to score a brace and change the game in a 3-2 comeback triumph at Torino on Monday.—
Jack Bantock,
New York Times,
12 Dec. 2025
-
The chute dragged the skydiver backward, knocking the camera operator off the plane and into free fall.—
Mithil Aggarwal,
NBC news,
12 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
Patrons shuffled out of the nearby restaurant into cars.—
Shomik Mukherjee,
Mercury News,
6 Dec. 2025
-
Between work, family and everything else on your plate, taking care of yourself often gets shuffled to the bottom of the list.—
Taylor Haught,
Miami Herald,
4 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Jalen Brunson has 19 points to lead New York, but the Knicks have struggled to avoid fouls on defense and struggled to make foul shots on the other end.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
11 June 2026
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Rushing out onto the beach, George struggled to comprehend what had happened.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 June 2026
Verb
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The rest of the team trudged off the field with a stunned look.—
Jeff Zrebiec,
New York Times,
8 Dec. 2025
-
For two weeks, Dameus, who splits his time between Haiti and the United States, trudged through the dusty terrain documenting the canal’s construction and telling the story of the river through the lens of Haitians, many of them farmers.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
19 Nov. 2025
Verb
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In another, the same material crawled like a biological organism, mimicking natural motion.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
6 Aug. 2025
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Five roaches breathed their last on the kitchen floor where two roaches crawled away.—
David J. Neal
August 1,
Miami Herald,
1 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Two suspects are being sought in a horrific homicide in which police allege a mother of four was beaten with bricks and stomped to death during a robbery in North Philadelphia.—
Bill Hutchinson,
ABC News,
10 June 2026
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The accordionist stomped sideways under the stage lights, sweat running down his temples, looking like Angus Young sans schoolboy shorts.—
Katie Thornton,
Harpers Magazine,
26 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Plodded.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plodded. Accessed 17 Jun. 2026.
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