amble

[ am-buhl ]

verb (used without object)

, am·bled, am·bling.

1. to go at a slow, easy pace; stroll; saunter:

   He ambled around the town.

   Synonyms: meander, ramble

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

noun

1. an ambling gait.
2. a slow, easy walk or gentle pace.
3. a stroll.

amble

/ ˈæmbəl /

verb

1. to walk at a leisurely relaxed pace
2. (of a horse) to move slowly, lifting both legs on one side together
3. to ride a horse at an amble or leisurely pace

noun

1. a leisurely motion in walking
2. a leisurely walk
3. the ambling gait of a horse

Derived Forms

• ˈambler, noun

Other Words From

• ambler noun
• ambling·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of amble¹

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)

Word History and Origins

Origin of amble¹

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

Example Sentences

When he walked, he would amble from one side of the street to the other.

From The Daily Beast

The cheetahs amble slowly along the edge of the pool and out across the lawn.

From The Daily Beast

It was smooth sailing at first—until walkers in SWAT-like uniforms amble onto the scene.

From The Daily Beast

There are several varieties of amble peculiar to the Peruvian horse; the most approved is that called the paso llano.

From Project Gutenberg

In Peru a horse is valued less for beauty of form than for the perfection of his amble.

From Project Gutenberg

Horace is always on the amble, Juvenal on the gallop; but his way is perpetually on carpet-ground.

From Project Gutenberg

Sally Blake and a bare kneed lad began to amble behind the foreigners, he taking his cue smartly and lolling out his tongue.

From Project Gutenberg

It seemed to amble tranquilly through the forest and the night, neither alarmed nor considering itself alarming.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• drift
• loiter
• meander
• mosey
• ramble
• sashay
• saunter
• stroll
• toddle
• wander