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
Picking one up on my walk home has become a little ritual — cold bottle, hot face, slow saunter.
From Salon ● Jul. 8, 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
Although the popularity of the park has grown over the 30 years we’ve walked our loop, we saunter through quietly, savoring our own beloved ritual.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 1, 2023
After Mr. Levy explains the lab, I saunter back to a lab table, where Jace is waiting, as if I couldn’t care less that we are partners.
From "A Good Kind of Trouble" by Lisa Moore Ramée
An older Black woman saunters down Western, low and slow, holding a watermelon and mango cup in one hand and her cane in the other.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 14, 2026
Jane saunters back and forth, bobbing up and down, and gives guests a quizzical, skeptical look.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 16, 2023
Depp saunters away from the tree, in the direction of another.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 9, 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
My eyes go to Autumn’s hiding spot, but Tano turns and saunters in that direction.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
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
They talked some more, before the group sauntered casually towards the lobby's automatic doors.
From BBC ● Mar. 11, 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
It was left to Feinberg-Mngomezulu to demonstrate that clinical edge as he sauntered over for his second score before locks Nortje and Etzebeth crossed.
From BBC ● Nov. 29, 2025
He sauntered off like those American teenage boys, his little sister chasing after him.
From "A Place to Belong" by Cynthia Kadohata
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
The show began with Beyoncé astride a white horse sauntering down a hallway in NRG’s bowels as she sang “16 Carriages,” her ballad about a youth spent on the road chasing showbiz dreams.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 25, 2024
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
Veturius gives his mother a short salute before releasing me and sauntering through the gate without so much as a backward glance.
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
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.
