sidle
Americanverb (used without object)
-
sidles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
sidled,
past participle, past
-
sidling
present participle
-
to move sideways or obliquely.
-
to edge along furtively.
noun
verb
-
to move in a furtive or stealthy manner; edge along
-
to move along sideways
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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sidlesimple
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sidlessimple
-
have sidledperfect
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has sidledperfect
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am sidlingprogressive
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are sidlingprogressive
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is sidlingprogressive
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have been sidlingperfect progressive
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has been sidlingperfect progressive
Past
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sidledsimple
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had sidledperfect
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was sidlingprogressive
-
were sidlingprogressive
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had been sidlingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of sidle
First recorded in 1690–1700; back formation from sideling (earlier spelling sidling misconstrued as present participle of a verb ending in -le )
Explanation
To sidle is to walk, but in a way that's casual, quiet, and a little sneaky. If you want to surprise someone, sidle up to them and say, "Boo!" There’s a TV show where a character’s coworker has a habit of walking so softly that he constantly startles her — she never notices him coming. So of course she buys wrestling shoes and tries to sidle back! Sidling is a type of walking that is super quiet. If you want to leave a party without people noticing, sidle out the door. Sidling is a good way to slip away.
Vocabulary lists containing sidle
"Everyday Use" by Alice Walker
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"To Build a Fire," Vocabulary from the short story
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Grade 12, List 6
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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:
Sex is not the predominant theme of her characters and her performances are never coy and rarely flirtatious; she does not vamp or sidle up suggestively.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026
If you wanted to tell a city clerk from a blacksmith, especially when they were both in their best bib and tucker, all you needed to do was sidle up and sniff.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
Do they sort of sidle up to you in the elevator and say, “Good job”? Or do they ignore you in the cafeteria and hope that this passes?
From Slate ● May 12, 2026
She will also sidle up to the fence now and then to take in the latest drama going on with the rest of the colony, which now numbers 42.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 14, 2023
In one hall, they had to zig and zag to opposite sides and sidle along the lockers to avoid the security cameras.
From "The Smartest Kid in the Universe" by Chris Grabenstein
That’s when one satellite sidles up to another and either fixes it or kills it, depending on whose satellite it is and what day of the week it is.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2025
He sidles up, sniffs one of the vehicles, then jumps up and plants two giant paws up on the side of the buggy.
From BBC ● Dec. 17, 2024
At the recently renovated Times Theatre & Public House, Wright sidles up with a pint for conversation and game broadcasts.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 6, 2021
At the edge of the property, a grassy lawn sidles up to the water.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2021
Garrett sidles up to me, holding the cake box, his blond hair winging out from under a baseball cap.
From "Leah on the Offbeat" by Becky Albertalli
Jack, my 15-year-old son, sidled up to me and spoke with uncharacteristic depth.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
I sidled up to the bar with happy hour in full swing, feeling a little nauseated from the heat and mileage.
From Slate ● Jun. 5, 2026
Kingsley went back inside and sidled up to the piano where Mercury was practising - it was a new song with the working title Freddie's Thing.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2025
But Morgan sidled over after practice anyway and we talked for about 20 minutes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2024
With tremendous reluctance, the next boy sidled forward to his fate.
From "Boy: Tales of a Childhood" by Roald Dahl
Stupnikov was already on the move, sidling up to a group of drivers smoking beside idling vehicles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
There are dozens of courtrooms spread across Floors 12 and 14, and observers and petitioners will bustle in and out, sidling past flocks of press and squads of federal officers.
From Slate ● Oct. 10, 2025
Now it’s been sidling tragically toward it: It is closed, and probably unlikely to reopen in the same place ever again.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 3, 2024
McCarthy denied sidling up to Burchett and elbowing him in the kidney, just as he denied the "Trump's not eating" story.
From Salon ● Dec. 26, 2023
She patted her again upon the shoulder as she said: “You are the only one worth playing for. Those others? Bah!” and she went shuffling and sidling on down the gallery toward her room.
From "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
