waddling

verb

present participle of waddle
as in lurching
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

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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 waddling And that camera is not without a desire to wander, like onto a lone porcupine waddling in the street during a particularly invasive act of trespass. — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 3 Sep. 2026 The creature, smaller than a house cat and uniquely round, appeared in social media users’ posts waddling across lawns, fences, and cables around the city. — Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 28 Aug. 2026 The eagles fuss obsessively with their habitat, waddling around on their huge, scaly reptilian feet, moving sticks to and fro with their bony beaks. — Alex Ross, New Yorker, 24 Aug. 2026 Yet one place that Merlin is allowed is inside Mexican leader Claudia Sheinbaum’s presidential palace, waddling onto stage on Monday morning for her daily briefing. — Jack Lang, New York Times, 26 June 2026 In less than two weeks, Merlín went from waddling through the streets of Mexico City during Mexico's opening victory to visiting the presidential palace. — ABC News, 24 June 2026 Once considered delightfully kitschy relics of suburban Americana, porch geese are waddling their way back into the spotlight. — Wendy Rose Gould, Martha Stewart, 29 May 2026 The only telltale sign of what lies below the surface is a metal set of stairs, leading into the icy blue channel, and small groups of divers and snorkelers waddling across the gravel paths in full gear. — Carinne Geil Botta, Travel + Leisure, 16 May 2026 The Quiet Tragedy of the Bottle-Fed Fawn Imprinting is one of those words people toss around casually, usually attached to baby ducks waddling after a researcher. — Hanna Wickes, Miami Herald, 28 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for waddling
  1. lurching
  2. staggering
  3. shuffling
  4. weaving
  5. tottering
  6. rolling
  7. stomping
Verb
  • Maybe this is what the Chargers are — lurching, sputtering and unable to consistently move the football, despite an offensive overhaul packed with lofty expectations.
    — Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 21 Sep. 2026
  • One more try and the orchestra slides up the expressive contrast a few notches to intensify the feeling of lurching from mood to mood.
    — Justin Davidson, Vulture, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of lurching
Verb
  • As the deli’s surveillance video rolled, his client went from calmly standing at the counter with a bottle of Gatorade to staggering to the floor, clutching his leg and tearing at his pants.
    — Alison J. Stein, HubSpot, 1 Sep. 2026
  • The works depicted broken figures staggering toward the viewer in ragged uniforms — in distorted sizes, giant hands and small heads.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2026
Definition of staggering
Verb
  • Ivey and his partner persuaded the Crockfords dealer to rotate the high-value cards 180 degrees before shuffling them back into the pack, citing some obscure superstition as justification.
    — Kit Chellel, Fortune, 5 Oct. 2026
  • At the end of all that immersiveness, exiting out onto the physical street to join the crowds of shuffling tourists and fend off sullen Elmos makes Times Square feel like the soul of authenticity.
    — Justin Davidson, Curbed, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of shuffling
Verb
  • On a recent Sunday afternoon, shoppers crowded the aisles at Tri Ocean Seafood Market on South Federal Boulevard, weaving around carts piled high with dragon fruit, Thai bananas and bundles of fresh herbs.
    — Sara Rosenthal, Denver Post, 11 Oct. 2026
  • That is exactly the challenge facing Apple, where Tim Cook’s extraordinary run was defined by operational mastery—building upon iPhone’s dominance while weaving an extraordinarily profitable global ecosystem of products, services, and retail.
    — Alyson Shontell, Fortune, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of weaving
Verb
  • In an accompanying cartoon, Spark is caricatured as a sulking giant, tottering above the Tuscan countryside in a pair of high heels.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 9 June 2026
  • Among them a City boy wearing three Fit-Bit-type devices, two beautiful Middle Eastern sisters, an outrageously pompous elderly American (sorry; eavesdropping), and several Imelda Marcos lookalikes, tottering out of the treatment rooms with, somehow, their elaborate hairstyles still intact.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 June 2026
Definition of tottering
Verb
  • Still, the game was tight for three-plus quarters because Denver couldn’t get its offense rolling, either.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2026
  • By 2025, the cameras were finally rolling, with Choi also serving as an executive producer.
    — Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 10 Oct. 2026
Definition of rolling
Verb
  • The answer isn’t between stomping the gas pedal or leaving the car parked.
    — Bob Ackerman, Forbes.com, 6 Oct. 2026
  • Handclaps, stomping percussion and a communal chorus create the kind of infectious energy that naturally gets people moving.
    — qygwork, Billboard, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of stomping

Browse Nearby Words

waddles
waddling
waddy
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Cite this Entry

“Waddling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/waddling. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

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