noun
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manner of walking or running; bearing
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(used esp of horses and dogs) the pattern of footsteps at various speeds, as the walk, trot, canter, etc, each pattern being distinguished by a particular rhythm and footfall
verb
Usage
What does gait mean? Gait means the way a person or animal walks or runs. Gait is often used in the context of horses and show dogs when analyzing how they walk, trot, and run. The human gait is studied in medicine and in sports like running. Gait can also be used as a verb meaning to teach a horse a particular gait. Example: You can tell that his gait is affected by a limp.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of gait
1500–10; Scots, Middle English spelling variant of gate 1 in various senses
Explanation
Some people have a very distinct gait, or manner of walking or running, which allows you to recognize them from far away. Walking with two legs is a pretty straightforward task, so most of us (with the exception of runners) don’t think about our own gait very often. However, when four legs are involved, the definition of gait becomes more complex. In horseback riding, gait is used to refer to the particular sequence or pattern of footsteps that the horse is using. Well-known gaits include the trot, the gallop, and the canter.
Vocabulary lists containing gait
Horsin' Around
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List 5
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Bud, Not Buddy
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The disease is marked by symptoms including tremor, stiffness, slow movement, gait and balance problems.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026
Surprisingly, this discovery about a horse’s gait sheds light on a much more modern debate—whether A.I. is on a path to consciousness.
From Slate ● May 25, 2026
The study, titled "Personalised gait retraining for medial compartment knee osteoarthritis: a randomised controlled trial," was published in The Lancet Rheumatology.
From Science Daily ● May 22, 2026
What isn’t yet known, Nieman says, is whether hearing aids can improve gait and walking speed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 9, 2026
Beside me, Ollie's gait is relaxed, but his upper body looks tense, and we speak to each other in gestures while ignoring the shouting I can still hear from a few blocks over.
From "Girl in the Blue Coat" by Monica Hesse
Dressage is the oldest equestrian discipline, and sees rider and horse perform a series of movements to music across the gaits of walk, trot and canter.
From BBC ● Dec. 5, 2024
Both were walking on two feet, although they had different gaits and foot shapes, which the research team in this study used to differentiate the footprints.
From Salon ● Nov. 29, 2024
"We have thus confirmed the hypothesis that efficient gaits can be realized by exploiting natural oscillation patterns," explains Prof.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 18, 2024
Atlantic puffins — clownish seabirds with colorful bills and waddling gaits — had their second consecutive rebound year for fledging chicks after suffering a catastrophic 2021, said scientists who monitor the birds.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 29, 2023
He began to recognize sounds as he had done before, and to associate footsteps and differing gaits with the people to whom they belonged.
From "The Door in the Wall" by Marguerite de Angeli
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
