plods

verb

present tense third-person singular of plod
1
as in strives
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 stumbles
to proceed or act clumsily or ineffectually oxen plodding through deep mud

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

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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for plods
  1. strives
  2. stumbles
  3. drags
  4. shuffles
  5. struggles
  6. trudges
  7. crawls
  8. stomps
Verb
  • Duplan strives to make individual rooms part of his music, regardless of location.
    — William Jones, Miami Herald, 1 Oct. 2026
  • In a poetic blend of reality and imagination, a vivacious Brooklyn teenager strives to reclaim her own fleeting childhood while helping raise her four younger sisters.
    — Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of strives
Verb
  • An irresolvable knot of wickedness who acts on impulse and has seemingly no capacity for empathy, Cathy stumbles into the heart of the Trask family’s jealousy and ambition.
    — Kathryn VanArendonk, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2026
  • But here, too, Wladyka stumbles, opting for a comforting but pat ending about how dance and art enliven so many lives.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of stumbles
Verb
  • Republicans have expressed growing pessimism about their chances in the election, which will determine control of Congress, as the president has repeatedly dismissed concerns about high costs and gas prices as his unpopular war in Iran drags on.
    — MICHELLE L. PRICE, Arkansas Online, 2 Oct. 2026
  • In it, a botched secret mission drags Eken Babu into a mystery in Kerala.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of drags
Verb
  • My brother looks at the floor, mumbles something, and then shuffles away from the table.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 17 Sep. 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 shuffles
Verb
  • The nation's flood insurance program struggles to balance affordability, flood protection and cost to taxpayers, leaving millions vulnerable at a time when climate change is driving flood risk higher.
    — MICHAEL PHILLIS, Arkansas Online, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Next up was Christian Pulisic, dubbed Captain America, who is arguably a bit better but struggles with consistency.
    — Ben Church, CNN Money, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of struggles
Verb
  • Six months later, the war trudges on, indirectly ensnaring much of the world by severely disrupting global trade.
    — Mark Sappenfield, Christian Science Monitor, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Enola dutifully trudges between clues and possibilities, shuffling through crime scenes and racing around shady spaces, all of this much more paint-by-numbers than connect-the-dots.
    — Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 30 June 2026
Definition of trudges
Verb
  • There’s also a less than 10% chance of showers, if one of the hurricanes crawls farther up the coast, according to Wofford.
    — Alex Wigglesworth, Los Angeles Times, 24 Sep. 2026
  • Hairy-nosed wombat births are hard to spot, as after about a 30-day pregnancy, the joey crawls into its mother’s pouch.
    — Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 16 Aug. 2026
Definition of crawls
Verb
  • Godzilla Minus Zero stomps into theaters in Japan on November 3 and in North America on November 6.
    — Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Joined by his crew, Shakur stomps him out before the stunned gamblers and boxing fans.
    — Jeff Weiss, HollywoodReporter, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of stomps
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.

Browse Nearby Words

ploddingly
plods
plop
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Cite this Entry

“Plods.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plods. Accessed 7 Oct. 2026.

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