amble
Americanverb (used without object)
noun
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an ambling gait.
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a slow, easy walk or gentle pace.
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a stroll.
verb
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to walk at a leisurely relaxed pace
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(of a horse) to move slowly, lifting both legs on one side together
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to ride a horse at an amble or leisurely pace
noun
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a leisurely motion in walking
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a leisurely walk
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the ambling gait of a horse
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of amble
1350–1400; Middle English < Middle French ambler < Latin ambulāre to walk, equivalent to amb- ambi- + -ulāre to step ( *-el- + stem vowel -ā-; cognate with Welsh el- may go, Greek elaúnein to set in motion)
Explanation
To amble is to take a leisurely, pleasurable walk. Care to amble down a pleasant country road instead of reading the rest of this word description? That would certainly be understandable. Amble is both a noun meaning "a stroll" and a verb meaning "to walk in a slow, leisurely way." You might amble (or take an amble) over to the snack table and grab a brownie. Amble comes from the Latin ambulare, which means "to walk about," as in ambulatory. Weirdly enough, it was once only used for horses or those on horseback. We use it for people now, but it still retains some of its horse-like, country feel.
Vocabulary lists containing amble
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
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Walk the Walk: Amb
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Hot to Trot: Animal Ambulation
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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.
"Amble to Mauretania. Greetings from Amble, last port in England, to still the finest ship on the seas".
From BBC • Feb. 13, 2026
The hitmaker played alongside Irish bands Amble, BIIRD, Beoga and Aaron Rowe in the Sky and The Ground pub on Tuesday night, as part of Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann.
From BBC • Aug. 6, 2025
Amble through a shopping district bustling with wealthy tourists in San José del Cabo.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 2, 2023
Amble into replica log cabins, offices and shops with antique tools and furnishings, as if the owners just stepped away.
From Seattle Times • Jul. 27, 2022
Parts of the wreck were brought by the waves to different places, such as Hauxley, Amble, Hartley, and other parts of Northumberland.
From Grace Darling Heroine of the Farne Islands by Hope, Eva
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.
