as in lurched
to move forward while swaying from side to side
the duck waddled back into the water we watched the penguins waddle over the ice together
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for waddled
Verb
-
The escalator lurched to a halt just after the pair got on.—
Kathryn Palmer,
USA Today,
24 Sep. 2025 -
On Halloween of 2022, just weeks into the new school year, senior Ehni Ler Htoo was making his way through the halls of Proctor High School in Utica, New York, when a fellow student lurched at him from behind, repeatedly plunging a 9-inch hunting knife into his back.—
Tonya Simpson,
ABC News,
24 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
All eight teams are playing on the final day of the regular season — with times TBD, but hopefully staggered — which could make this the most chaotic finale yet.—
Hailey Salvian,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
-
Additional departure dates are staggered throughout July and August.—
Maia Pandey,
jsonline.com,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
And then, after Nakashima sent a first serve back into the middle with good depth, slightly tucking the Spaniard up, Alcaraz shuffled backward and detonated an inside-in forehand to win the match.—
Charlie Eccleshare,
New York Times,
29 Sep. 2025
-
But what that led to, advocates and attorneys say, is that children in the state’s care continued to be in night to night placements and shuffled from home to home.—
Laura Bauer,
Kansas City Star,
26 Sep. 2025
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.
Cite this Entry
“Waddled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/waddled. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share