waddle

1 of 2

verb

wad·​dle ˈwä-dᵊl How to pronounce waddle (audio)
waddled; waddling
ˈwäd-liŋ,
ˈwä-dᵊl-iŋ How to pronounce waddle (audio)

intransitive verb

1
: to walk with short steps swinging the forepart of the body from side to side
2
: to move clumsily in a manner suggesting a waddle
waddler
ˈwäd-lər
ˈwä-dᵊl-ər How to pronounce waddle (audio)
noun

waddle

2 of 2

noun

: an awkward clumsy swaying gait

Examples of waddle in a Sentence

Verb He waddled down the hallway. A fat goose waddled across the yard.
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Instead, Bella waddles around her London home thrashing, blabbing, and twirling in elaborate blouses. Kalia Richardson, Rolling Stone, 3 Mar. 2024 As surprising as her body’s capacity for fatigue was its ability to revive: a few minutes later, with a new sack, Lil waddled to the front door, through its slit, and started down again. Elizabeth Barber, Harper's Magazine, 9 Feb. 2024 When the door opened, the penguins all waddled to their outdoor habitat. Amy Schwabe, Journal Sentinel, 2 Feb. 2024 This is the last year to see king penguins waddle through the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. Victoria Moorwood, The Enquirer, 23 Feb. 2024 The lure will waddle and roll back and forth along the surface, creating its calling-card V wake. Joe Cermele, Field & Stream, 4 Jan. 2024 With its spine engaged, the mouse-bot completed its labyrinth runs an average of 30 percent faster than simply waddling through without spinal support. Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 6 Dec. 2023 After the race, Swaim waddled into Reaves’ home, took a 30-minute shower and instantly took advantage of the muscle-recovery gear afforded to one of the Lakers’ most valuable players. Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2023 The woman released the duck, which waddled away as through drunk, and grabbed another. Mathias Énard, Harper's Magazine, 11 Oct. 2023
Noun
At least the backgrounds are eye-catching, as a waddle of mallards crack jokes amid beautiful fall foliage. Peter Debruge, Variety, 20 Dec. 2023 With turkeys, the waddle may act as a pendulum that recovers some of the potential energy (from the change in position of its center of mass) and uses that for kinetic energy to propel it forward. Paul M. Sutter, Discover Magazine, 21 Nov. 2023 Domestic turkeys must pitch their bodies forward to stabilize themselves, keep their feet wider apart, take shorter, shuffling steps, and have a more pronounced waddle. Paul M. Sutter, Discover Magazine, 21 Nov. 2023 On Monday night, Late Show host Stephen Colbert couldn’t resist a playful tug on the commander in chief’s waddle, noting that the turkeys spent a luxurious night in a hotel — which included a bubble bath — and had a limo ride to their pardoning. Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 21 Nov. 2023 That’s a polite way of saying waddle. Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 14 June 2021 Looking at a waddle of penguins, our sense is of hundreds of automata with roughly interchangeable personalities, and thus no personalities at all. Mark Changizi, Discover Magazine, 7 Dec. 2011 The show includes a waddle of penguins, a mischievous garden of flowers, a drag queen, and other fanciful characters. oregonlive, 7 Dec. 2022 Jayden — who had grown thickset, with curly black hair and a pigeon-toed waddle — needed new socks and sippy cups. Brett Murphy, ProPublica, 20 Nov. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'waddle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

frequentative of wade

First Known Use

Verb

1592, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1691, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of waddle was in 1592

Dictionary Entries Near waddle

Cite this Entry

“Waddle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/waddle. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

waddle

1 of 2 verb
wad·​dle ˈwäd-ᵊl How to pronounce waddle (audio)
waddled; waddling ˈwäd-liŋ How to pronounce waddle (audio)
-ᵊl-iŋ
1
: to walk with short steps swaying from side to side
ducks waddling to the water
2
: to move slowly and awkwardly
the big boat waddled upstream
waddler
-lər How to pronounce waddle (audio)
-ᵊl-ər
noun

waddle

2 of 2 noun
: an awkward swaying walk

More from Merriam-Webster on waddle

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