amble

[ am-buhl ]

/ ˈæm bəl /

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See synonyms for: amble / ambled / ambling / ambler on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object), am·bled, am·bling.

to go at a slow, easy pace; stroll; saunter: He ambled around the town.

(of a horse) to go at a slow pace with the legs moving in lateral pairs and usually having a four-beat rhythm.

noun

an ambling gait.

a slow, easy walk or gentle pace.

a stroll.

OTHER WORDS FOR amble

1 ramble, meander.

See synonyms for amble on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

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)

OTHER WORDS FROM amble

ambler, nounam·bling·ly, adverb

Words nearby amble

ambivalence, ambivalent, ambivalent sexism, ambiversion, ambivert, amble, Ambler, Ambleside, amblygonite, amblyopia, amblyoscope

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use amble in a sentence

When he walked, he would amble from one side of the street to the other.
What Lincoln Could Teach Fox News|Scott Porch|November 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The cheetahs amble slowly along the edge of the pool and out across the lawn.
The Best Scenes From Cormac McCarthy’s ‘The Counselor’ Screenplay|Thomas Flynn|October 27, 2013|DAILY BEAST
It was smooth sailing at first—until walkers in SWAT-like uniforms amble onto the scene.
‘The Walking Dead’: 8 Deadliest Kills of Season 3 (Video)|Melissa Leon|December 2, 2012|DAILY BEAST
There are several varieties of amble peculiar to the Peruvian horse; the most approved is that called the paso llano.
Travels in Peru, on the Coast, in the Sierra, Across the Cordilleras and the Andes, into the Primeval Forests|J. J. von Tschudi

In Peru a horse is valued less for beauty of form than for the perfection of his amble.
Travels in Peru, on the Coast, in the Sierra, Across the Cordilleras and the Andes, into the Primeval Forests|J. J. von Tschudi
Horace is always on the amble, Juvenal on the gallop; but his way is perpetually on carpet-ground.
Dryden's Works (13 of 18): Translations; Pastorals|John Dryden
Sally Blake and a bare kneed lad began to amble behind the foreigners, he taking his cue smartly and lolling out his tongue.
Lazarre|Mary Hartwell Catherwood
It seemed to amble tranquilly through the forest and the night, neither alarmed nor considering itself alarming.
Operation Terror|William Fitzgerald Jenkins

British Dictionary definitions for amble

amble

/ (ˈæmbəl) /

verb (intr)

to walk at a leisurely relaxed pace

(of a horse) to move slowly, lifting both legs on one side together

to ride a horse at an amble or leisurely pace

noun

a leisurely motion in walking

a leisurely walk

the ambling gait of a horse

Derived forms of amble

ambler, noun

Word Origin for amble

C14: from Old French ambler, from Latin ambulāre to walk

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

amble

OTHER WORDS FOR amble

Origin of amble

OTHER WORDS FROM amble

Words nearby amble

Words related to amble

How to use amble in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for amble

Derived forms of amble

Word Origin for amble