plod

American  

[plod] / plɒd /

verb (used without object)

• plods,
  present (3rd person singular)
• plodded,
  past participle,  past
• plodding
  present participle

1. to walk heavily or move laboriously; trudge.

   to plod under the weight of a burden.

2. to proceed in a tediously slow manner.

   The play just plodded along in the second act.

3. to work with constant and monotonous perseverance; drudge.

   Synonyms:

   labor, moil, toil

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verb (used with object)

• plods,
  present (3rd person singular)
• plodded,
  past participle,  past
• plodding
  present participle

1. to walk heavily over or along.

noun

• plods
  plural

1. the act or a course of plodding.

2. a sound of a heavy tread.

plod British  

/ plɒd /

verb

1. to make (one's way) or walk along (a path, road, etc) with heavy usually slow steps

2. (intr) to work slowly and perseveringly

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noun

1. the act of plodding

2. the sound of slow heavy steps

3. slang a policeman

Synonym Usage

See pace ¹.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• plodder
  noun
• ploddingness
  noun
• outplod
  verb (used with object)
• plodding
  adjective
• unplodding
  adjective
• ploddingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• plods
  plural

Participles

• plodding
  present
• plodded
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• plod
  simple
• plods
  simple
• have plodded
  perfect
• has plodded
  perfect
• am plodding
  progressive
• are plodding
  progressive
• is plodding
  progressive
• have been plodding
  perfect progressive
• has been plodding
  perfect progressive

Past

• plodded
  simple
• had plodded
  perfect
• was plodding
  progressive
• were plodding
  progressive
• had been plodding
  perfect progressive

Future

• will plod
  simple
• will have plodded
  perfect
• will be plodding
  progressive
• will have been plodding
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of plod

First recorded in 1555–65; perhaps imitative

Explanation

When you plod, you walk slowly, heavily, and deliberately. You might need to plod through the snow to get to the bus stop on time. Plod evokes a difficulty in walking — like when you trudge through mud or walk slowly up a steep hill. You might plod home at the end of a long day, or plod through an overgrown field on a hot afternoon. You can also use plod figuratively to mean "work on something boring or monotonous." The origin of plod is unknown, but it may have come from the sound of feet on the ground — the sound you make when you plod.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

plod plods plodded plodding

In Kirk’s name, they will continue to plod through long, grueling, nonsensical arguments about Egyptian aircraft and Emmanuel Macron, with people who are simply never going to listen.

From Slate ● Dec. 22, 2025

When it became obvious the painfully slow-paced event would plod past 4½ hours, the Draft House was closed to some teams.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 28, 2025

In trying to make media-watching “easier,” tech has slowed the process to a maddening plod.

From Salon ● May 22, 2025

“Any excuse to escape from Cambridge and plod across ploughed fields instead of stagnating in lecture rooms is enormously welcome,” he said in a letter quoted by Dimbleby.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 8, 2024

I stood behind Emma, taking up the rear of our strange little conga line, and we began to plod forward across the wreck toward the lighthouse.

From "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs

Federal support has served as a stock catalyst over the past few months as Oklo plods toward profitability.

From Barron's ● Mar. 17, 2026

There’s something conspiratorial in a song like “World on a String,” which plods forward with a slow menace, as inviting as it is eerie.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 3, 2024

But mostly “Next Goal Wins” just plods along, agreeable and familiar and instantly forgettable.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 14, 2023

As of now, Slate’s X presence has returned to normal—which is to say, it plods on, reaping diminishing rewards on a platform that is indifferent, at best, to its presence.

From Slate ● Oct. 6, 2023

Every day at two, four, and seven, Ruby plods through the sawdust with Snickers on her back.

From "The One and Only Ivan" by Katherine Applegate

We plodded through the powder, passing deer tracks as we moved, until we reached a small clearing with several promising candidates.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 23, 2025

After the increasingly disastrous three “Jurassic World” movies, which were vacuums of appeal as their star Chris Pratt plodded about bemoaning his precious housebroken velociraptors, the “Jurassic” series desperately needed a shot in the arm.

From Salon ● Jul. 3, 2025

Part of this expectation has been shaped by a tumultuous history, where people gritted their teeth through the pain of wars and famine, and plodded on.

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2024

We plodded through an obsidian darkness, one deliberate step at a time, our headlamp beams illuminating the way.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 25, 2024

Through wind and rain, mud and frost, Marlene just plodded on.

From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo

Denton’s late-summer start date shows that Nike’s turnaround is plodding along, but will take time.

From Barron's ● Jun. 24, 2026

The younger, faster Ducks dominated the plodding Golden Knights for most of the game, but Vegas stifled the Ducks’ power play, which kept it in the game.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 7, 2026

With a short season, smaller scope and much lighter tone, this could be the welcome antidote to the humorless, plodding “HotD,” and get Westeros fans excited again.

From MarketWatch ● Dec. 31, 2025

The 25-year-old company has long conducted research on hardware and developed missions in a methodical and, at times, plodding manner.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 2, 2025

So proud and high were their heads, I saw for the first time how miserable were the real horses plodding the streets.

From "Milkweed" by Jerry Spinelli

Related Words

• lumber
• slog
• tramp
• trudge