sidle
Americanverb (used without object)
-
sidles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
sidled,
past participle, past
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sidling
present participle
-
to move sideways or obliquely.
-
to edge along furtively.
noun
verb
-
to move in a furtive or stealthy manner; edge along
-
to move along sideways
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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sidlesimple
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sidlessimple
-
have sidledperfect
-
has sidledperfect
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am sidlingprogressive
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are sidlingprogressive
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is sidlingprogressive
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have been sidlingperfect progressive
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has been sidlingperfect progressive
Past
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sidledsimple
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had sidledperfect
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was sidlingprogressive
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were sidlingprogressive
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had been sidlingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of sidle
First recorded in 1690–1700; back formation from sideling (earlier spelling sidling misconstrued as present participle of a verb ending in -le )
Explanation
To sidle is to walk, but in a way that's casual, quiet, and a little sneaky. If you want to surprise someone, sidle up to them and say, "Boo!" There’s a TV show where a character’s coworker has a habit of walking so softly that he constantly startles her — she never notices him coming. So of course she buys wrestling shoes and tries to sidle back! Sidling is a type of walking that is super quiet. If you want to leave a party without people noticing, sidle out the door. Sidling is a good way to slip away.
Vocabulary lists containing sidle
"Everyday Use" by Alice Walker
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"To Build a Fire," Vocabulary from the short story
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Grade 12, List 6
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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:
Do they sort of sidle up to you in the elevator and say, “Good job”? Or do they ignore you in the cafeteria and hope that this passes?
From Slate ● May 12, 2026
They’re more like trusty gags that sidle in wearing Groucho Marx glasses.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2025
You all need to sidle up to a person and sit next to them so that the next couple can sit together.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 25, 2022
There, instead of sitting across from Emily, Adam elected to sidle up next to her while they drank their Guinnesses.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 27, 2022
I feel the word sidle up next to me, dig into me, try to make itself comfortable.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
That’s when one satellite sidles up to another and either fixes it or kills it, depending on whose satellite it is and what day of the week it is.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2025
He sidles up, sniffs one of the vehicles, then jumps up and plants two giant paws up on the side of the buggy.
From BBC ● Dec. 17, 2024
The team is sighing with relief when Kendall, of WDC, sidles up to Kowalcyk, quietly telling her the man next to Paul asked whether he could go inside, too.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 2, 2023
At the edge of the property, a grassy lawn sidles up to the water.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2021
Rostam sidles next to me and licks the salt from my cheeks.
From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri
Back outside, a crowd surrounded the sisters, but held back until one woman sidled up to the pair and whispered “Photo?”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 8, 2025
Kingsley went back inside and sidled up to the piano where Mercury was practising - it was a new song with the working title Freddie's Thing.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2025
A big, middle-aged Irishman sidled past my friend and muttered, “I thought it was bad in Belfast.”
From Slate ● Jan. 3, 2025
“Hey, handsome,” Blowen called out as he sidled up to his longtime friend that now has only four remaining teeth and spends much of his day napping.
From Seattle Times ● May 1, 2024
I sidled up next to Millard and slipped my fingers under the page, which was so large that it took both my hands and his to turn.
From "Hollow City" by Ransom Riggs
Now it has transformed itself into tumbleweed proper, sidling and bouncing wherever the wind chooses.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 17, 2025
There are dozens of courtrooms spread across Floors 12 and 14, and observers and petitioners will bustle in and out, sidling past flocks of press and squads of federal officers.
From Slate ● Oct. 10, 2025
Desperate times call for desperate measures, so you find yourself sidling into a café.
From BBC ● Jan. 25, 2025
McCarthy denied sidling up to Burchett and elbowing him in the kidney, just as he denied the "Trump's not eating" story.
From Salon ● Dec. 26, 2023
He came sidling out of the stable, dancing and playing.
From "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Hoskins Forbes
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.
