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
-
are saunteringprogressive
-
am 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.
I naively thought the Saunter would be the same.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026
An annual tradition called the Great Saunter has blown up, creating headaches for organizers and new obstacles for walkers.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026
The main characters are Aziraphale, an angel and part-time rare-book dealer, and the stylish demon Crowley, described as “an Angel who did not so much Fall as Saunter Vaguely Downwards.”
From New York Times • May 17, 2023
The project was inspired by an annual event in New York called the Great Saunter.
From Washington Post • Jun. 30, 2015
See, rather, under sultrier skies What vegetable Londons rise, And teem, and suffer without sound: Or in your tranquil garden ground, Contented, in the falling gloom, Saunter and see the roses bloom.
From Songs of Travel by Stevenson, Robert Louis
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.
