saunter
Americanverb
noun
-
a leisurely pace or stroll
-
a leisurely old-time dance
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
sauntersimple
-
saunterssimple
-
have saunteredperfect
-
has saunteredperfect
-
am saunteringprogressive
-
are saunteringprogressive
-
is saunteringprogressive
-
have been saunteringperfect progressive
-
has been saunteringperfect progressive
Past
-
saunteredsimple
-
had saunteredperfect
-
was saunteringprogressive
-
were saunteringprogressive
-
had been saunteringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of saunter
First recorded in 1660–70; of uncertain origin
Explanation
To saunter is to stroll at a leisurely pace. The next time someone accuses you of dragging your feet and asks you to speed it up, calmly tell them that you’re perfecting your saunter. A verb of unconfirmed origin, saunter means to “walk with a leisurely gait.” As a noun, saunter describes that leisurely gait. Henry David Thoreau once said “it is a great art to saunter.” So while crossing a busy street may not be the best time to test out your sauntering abilities, feel free to practice when you're not in a hurry.
Vocabulary lists containing saunter
Touching Spirit Bear
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Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
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"The Devil and Tom Walker" by Washington Irving
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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:
In the morning—before my aching knee and bulging blisters relegated my saunter to a limp—a 32-mile walk around Manhattan sounded like a good way to spend the first Saturday in May.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026
I’ve felt my heart stop, swearing I caught a glimpse of my long-dead cat saunter by, out of the corner of my eye.
From Salon ● Oct. 31, 2025
The 37-year-old former England scrum-half turned provider at the end of the first half, a lovely delayed pass allowing Dombrandt to saunter in for the third try.
From BBC ● Dec. 14, 2024
Chris Smith didn’t just saunter into his position as director of equipment operations for the Chargers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2024
Or they might saunter over to the Corner and join the crowd listening to the men with the long-distance eyes.
From "Jazz" by Toni Morrison
Depp saunters away from the tree, in the direction of another.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 9, 2022
At the beginning of each installment, he saunters out of the darkness up to what appears to be an elaborate model mansion with drawers.
From New York Times ● Oct. 21, 2022
Hovering above Westlake Park, a giant silver figure saunters in place, her hips and belly swelling and contracting as ribbons of red and black swirl up and down her body.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 3, 2022
She saunters through Bergdorf Goodman like a queen, but that subtle tick in her lip or awkward hair flip connotes she’s on the edge of ruin.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 11, 2022
At that minute Mango saunters into the room and heads straight for his food bowl.
From "A Mango-Shaped Space" by Wendy Mass
Days before plundering Borel’s wine cellar, the two are believed to have sauntered into Huso, a Michelin-starred Tribeca restaurant that has been celebrated for its collection of bottles, according to a law-enforcement official.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 31, 2026
The Knicks led by as many as 52 points at one stage in the fourth quarter as they sauntered to victory thanks to a blistering 26-point cameo off the bench from Jose Alvarado.
From Barron's ● Feb. 12, 2026
Argentina demonstrated a more ruthless edge as player-of-the-match Prisciantelli sauntered over for his second score.
From BBC ● Nov. 9, 2025
Armed agents have sauntered through downtown and manned a flotilla of boats on the Chicago River.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 8, 2025
He tipped his hat toward her and sauntered off, leaving Petty Officer Lac standing dumbfounded on the dock.
From "The Reader" by Traci Chee
Sure, no one is stopping anyone from sauntering into their local grocery store dressed to the nines in faux fur and pumps.
From Salon ● Nov. 9, 2025
He was the only person in the stream of workers sauntering out of the house who was willing to be interviewed in English, mostly.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 9, 2025
Zheng then won three successive games, dropping just four points along the way, and looked to be sauntering towards the win.
From BBC ● Nov. 9, 2024
She let out a grunt and charged, running right up to Bruiser, who was sauntering by.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 7, 2023
Only she wasn’t looking at him but was frowning at the girls sauntering down the middle of the hall.
From "Time Bomb" by Joelle Charbonneau
Definitions 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.
