peddle
Americanverb (used with object)
-
peddles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
peddled,
past participle, past
-
peddling
present participle
-
to carry (small articles, goods, wares, etc.) from place to place for sale at retail; hawk.
-
to deal out, distribute, or dispense, especially in small quantities.
to peddle radical ideas.
-
to sell (drugs) illicitly.
verb (used without object)
-
peddles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
peddled,
past participle, past
-
peddling
present participle
-
to go from place to place with goods, wares, etc., for sale at retail.
-
to occupy oneself with trifles; trifle.
verb
-
to go from place to place selling (goods, esp small articles)
-
(tr) to sell (illegal drugs, esp narcotics)
-
(tr) to advocate (ideas) persistently or importunately
to peddle a new philosophy
-
archaic (intr) to trifle
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
peddlesimple
-
peddlessimple
-
have peddledperfect
-
has peddledperfect
-
am peddlingprogressive
-
are peddlingprogressive
-
is peddlingprogressive
-
have been peddlingperfect progressive
-
has been peddlingperfect progressive
Past
-
peddledsimple
-
had peddledperfect
-
was peddlingprogressive
-
were peddlingprogressive
-
had been peddlingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of peddle
First recorded in 1525–35; apparently back formation from peddler; peddle in def. 5, reinforced by piddle
Explanation
When you peddle something, you go out and try to sell it. It's cute when a little kid peddles his homemade birthday cards around the neighborhood, but if an adult did that it might be annoying. The classic image of someone who peddles is an old-fashioned "peddler" or "tinker" traveling from village to village selling goods. The verb peddle, in fact, comes from the word "peddler," whose origin is a mystery. Any time you sell something by going from place to place, like selling Girl Scout cookies to all your neighbors, you peddle.
Vocabulary lists containing peddle
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
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Commonly Confused Words, List 2
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The Circuit
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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:
It isn’t the first time Play-Doh has attempted to peddle its squishy wares outside of the toddler aisle.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
Researchers have also warned that X's model -- allowing premium accounts to earn payouts based on engagement -- has turbocharged the financial incentive to peddle false or sensational content.
From Barron's ● Mar. 15, 2026
Eaton for many years has worked to expose people who peddle chlorine dioxide and to report apparent injuries to authorities.
From Salon ● Dec. 15, 2025
Ex-Fugees musician Prakazrel "Pras" Michel has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for using money to peddle influence in US politics.
From BBC ● Nov. 21, 2025
She watched the bored-looking merchants inside their tiny stalls, smoking, or spitdng into brass spittoons, their faces emerging from the shadows now and then to peddle textiles and fur-collared poostin coats to passersby.
From "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini
"Everything is there. I was stuck here," he told AFP in Karachi, near the well-known Bengali market where he peddles desiccated fish and prawns to make ends meet for $7 to $9 per day.
From Barron's ● Feb. 23, 2026
A defining aspiration for the country, the dream peddles the concept of upward mobility so that anyone might achieve success if they just work hard enough.
From Salon ● Jan. 19, 2024
Another witness said she saw Joshua "going at a fair rate" stood up on his peddles beginning to cross the carriageway and that it did not look like he was going to stop.
From BBC ● May 2, 2023
Instead, like most graphers, he peddles his merchandise to a dealer, who in turn hawks it at a significant markup on eBay and other, more obscure autograph marketplaces.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 26, 2023
Uncle Leang waves one hand back and peddles his bike faster in our direction.
From "First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers" by Loung Ung
Evergrande Group was once the face of Chinese real estate, surfing a decades-long property boom as it peddled home-ownership dreams.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
For the most part, Strong’s day-by-day chronicle of the war’s ups and downs was based on behind-the-scenes gossip and “extras” peddled by Manhattan newsboys.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 23, 2026
In a joint statement with local government officials on Monday, Kaduna state police commissioner Alhaji Muhammad Rabiu described the information as "mere falsehood which is being peddled by conflict entrepreneurs who want to cause chaos".
From BBC ● Jan. 20, 2026
El Diablo, however, knew where the bodies were buried — a knowledge he peddled tirelessly to his U.S. handlers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2025
I peddled faster, trying to drive out the knowledge that I was disobeying my father.
From "The Lions of Little Rock" by Kristin Levine
Agents sifted through hundreds of thousands of records seized during Kao’s arrest and found that many were consistent with his account of widespread influence peddling.
From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026
The Sunday Times carries comments from unnamed friends of the King who the paper says have called Earl Spencer a "hypocrite" who is "peddling Diana's privacy".
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026
Like “Born in the U.S.A.” and “Rockin’ in the Free World,” “Pink Houses” was practically destined to be misinterpreted by elected salesmen peddling easy fantasies.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
In the deluge of emails and comments we have received over the past 24 hours, we were accused of breathless hype, shocking ignorance and peddling what one reader described as “absolute rubbish.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
Not long afterward, the onetime insurance salesman opened a business in downtown Fairfax, peddling bona fide policies.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
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