1
as in shuffling
to move heavily or clumsily
flooded residents who were forced to trudge through waist-deep water
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in stumbling
to proceed or act clumsily or ineffectually
no expert on taxes, I spent the whole weekend trudging through government forms
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 trudging
Ohio State’s win against Texas is still fine, but the Longhorns have looked disappointing, too, after trudging through a 27-10 win against UTEP.
—
Chris Vannini, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2025
In the engaging trailer that continues the sinister tale of Vault-Tec, The Ghoul arrives in New Vegas alongside Lucy MacLean (Ella Purnell) and Dogmeat, trudging into the outskirts of New Vegas.
—Jeff Spry, Space.com, 22 Aug. 2025
Without a doubt there are people who would pay serious money to see Jeffrey Katzenberg hanging out and trudging through the sand and dirt at Burning Man.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 22 Aug. 2025
They were left operating on fumes by the end, with Ollie Watkins — Duran’s replacement — starved of service and Morgan Rogers consigned to trudging off the pitch, knowing his long dribbling bursts would have scant options ahead of him.
—Jacob Tanswell, The Athletic, 27 Dec. 2024
Standard time brings more sunshine to earlier hours, insuring that children are not trudging to school in cold-weather darkness.
—David K. Li, NBC News, 22 Dec. 2024
The Dakota boots are armored in waterproof rubber and have a rugged outsole, so trudging through sleet and snow is no issue.
—Emily Weaver, People.com, 14 Dec. 2024
My boots were dusty from trudging through vineyards.
—Megan Lloyd, Travel + Leisure, 7 Dec. 2024
His England side though barely got out of second gear in South Africa and were eliminated from the 2010 World Cup in the round of 16 after trudging through the group stage with draws against the USA and Algeria.
—Steve Price, Forbes, 16 Oct. 2024
Chris Vannini, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2025
In the engaging trailer that continues the sinister tale of Vault-Tec, The Ghoul arrives in New Vegas alongside Lucy MacLean (Ella Purnell) and Dogmeat, trudging into the outskirts of New Vegas.
—Jeff Spry, Space.com, 22 Aug. 2025
Without a doubt there are people who would pay serious money to see Jeffrey Katzenberg hanging out and trudging through the sand and dirt at Burning Man.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 22 Aug. 2025
They were left operating on fumes by the end, with Ollie Watkins — Duran’s replacement — starved of service and Morgan Rogers consigned to trudging off the pitch, knowing his long dribbling bursts would have scant options ahead of him.
—Jacob Tanswell, The Athletic, 27 Dec. 2024
Standard time brings more sunshine to earlier hours, insuring that children are not trudging to school in cold-weather darkness.
—David K. Li, NBC News, 22 Dec. 2024
The Dakota boots are armored in waterproof rubber and have a rugged outsole, so trudging through sleet and snow is no issue.
—Emily Weaver, People.com, 14 Dec. 2024
My boots were dusty from trudging through vineyards.
—Megan Lloyd, Travel + Leisure, 7 Dec. 2024
His England side though barely got out of second gear in South Africa and were eliminated from the 2010 World Cup in the round of 16 after trudging through the group stage with draws against the USA and Algeria.
—Steve Price, Forbes, 16 Oct. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for trudging
Verb
-
Suddenly, a horde of ragged, bloodied creatures appear, their feet shuffling along the pavement, their hollow eyes locked on fleeing figures ahead.—
Tom Duszynski,
The Conversation,
16 Oct. 2025
-
But after some shuffling at the position, Horn finally got his opportunity and immediately impacted the offense with the threat of his speed.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
16 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Footage of a father stumbling around, apparently carrying the headless body of his baby?—
Jay Caspian Kang,
New Yorker,
17 Oct. 2025
-
Remaining unclaimed playoff spots The final two playoff spots in the Western Conference are up for grabs, with FC Dallas, Real Salt Lake, the Colorado Rapids and San Jose Earthquakes all stumbling towards the finish line.—
Tom Bogert,
New York Times,
17 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
But only the faithful know everything about the Mushroom Kingdom’s shell-stomping messiah.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
18 Oct. 2025
-
Barner holds his arms parallel to the ground and swings them side to side while slowly stomping forward like Godzilla demolishing a city.—
Michael-Shawn Dugar,
New York Times,
9 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
That was punctuated by the incident in Dubai, which Raducanu said left her struggling to breathe properly in the immediate aftermath.—
Charlie Eccleshare,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
-
The film follows Malik (Omar Epps), a gifted athlete struggling academically; Kristen (Kristy Swanson), a young woman discovering her voice; and Remy (Michael Rapaport), a student whose isolation turns dangerous.—
Okla Jones,
Essence,
16 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Trudging.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/trudging. Accessed 20 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share