amble
[am-buh l]
- 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.
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- an ambling gait.
- a slow, easy walk or gentle pace.
- a stroll.
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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)
Synonyms
See more synonyms for amble on Thesaurus.com1. ramble, meander.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for ambled
Contemporary Examples
He ambled into the main auditorium, telling me he was exhausted, while Newt Gingrich wrapped up a snooze of a speech.
Historical Examples
The old woodchuck saw him coming and ambled out to meet him.
A Little Book of Profitable TalesEugene Field
She wheeled her horse, and, side by side, they ambled up the dusty road.
Mistress WildingRafael Sabatini
With a chuckle he ambled off to his wife, to be sent to some one else, and Drake bent to Nell.
Nell, of Shorne MillsCharles Garvice
He ambled up to Ross, who was busily shovelling in the earth.
The Boy with the U. S. Weather MenFrancis William Rolt-Wheeler
And Pete dropped the mower and ambled up to the office-door.
In Apple-Blossom TimeClara Louise Burnham
amble
- 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
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- a leisurely motion in walking
- a leisurely walk
- the ambling gait of a horse
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Word Origin
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
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Word Origin and History for ambled
amble
v.
early 14c., from Old French ambler "walk as a horse does," from Latin ambulare "to walk, to go about, take a walk," perhaps a compound of ambi- "around" (see ambi-) and -ulare, from PIE root *el- "to go" (cf. Greek ale "wandering," alaomai "wander about;" Latvian aluot "go around or astray"). Until 1590s used only of horses or persons on horseback. Related: Ambled; ambling. As a noun, from late 14c.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper