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
  • The United States, which had been lurching toward entry in the Second World War, was suddenly and inescapably thrust into global conflict.
    — Tracy Grant, Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Republicans see Democrats lurching to the left and embracing socialism as an opening to link their opponents to the far more radical communism.
    — Garrett Downs, CNBC, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of lurching
Verb
  • 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
  • The works depicted broken figures staggering toward the viewer in ragged uniforms — in distorted sizes, giant hand and small heads.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 1 May 2026
Definition of staggering
Verb
  • The bull riders—including the current champion, 20-year-old John Crimber—stand with their cowboy hat over their heart, boots shuffling nervously in the dirt.
    — Christine Lennon, Condé Nast Traveler, 30 Aug. 2026
  • There must have been a hundred of us there, circling the truck, clambering onto its hood, shuffling and shimmying and twerking with abandon.
    — Taran Dugal, New Yorker, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of shuffling
Verb
  • Dow stood with three tattooed and shirtless jumpers, weaving white paracord through hooks in the canvas and cinching it tight.
    — M. R. O’Connor, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Ousmane Kromah had a weaving 52-yard run in the fourth quarter.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 29 Aug. 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
  • One of his best tips for this is rolling your clothes instead of folding them.
    — Alesandra Dubin, Travel + Leisure, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Video of flooding in the area shows a gargantuan wave rolling across vehicles, structures and fleeing people.
    — Wendy Grossman Kantor, PEOPLE, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of rolling
Verb
  • Their father, Jamie, always seemed to be around, smiling and shouting and stomping his feet.
    — Brady Brickner-Wood, New Yorker, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Hello Kitty is stomping back to McDonald's in full kaiju form.
    — Chad Murphy, Cincinnati Enquirer, 13 Aug. 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 5 Sep. 2026.

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