sidle

[sahyd-l]

verb (used without object)

sidled, sidling 

1. to move sideways or obliquely.

2. to edge along furtively.

noun

1. a sidling movement.

sidle

/ ˈsaɪdəl /

verb

1. to move in a furtive or stealthy manner; edge along

2. to move along sideways

noun

1. a sideways movement

Other Word Forms

• sidlingly adverb
• unsidling adjective
• sidler noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of sidle¹

First recorded in 1690–1700; back formation from sideling (earlier spelling sidling misconstrued as present participle of a verb ending in -le )

Word History and Origins

Origin of sidle¹

C17: back formation from obsolete sideling sideways

Example Sentences

As the doors to the ballroom were flung open and the other guests came in, the admiral sidled up to Penelope and spoke quietly into her ear.

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Now it has transformed itself into tumbleweed proper, sidling and bouncing wherever the wind chooses.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

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.

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As if on cue, Rudy, my aged Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, gingerly sidled up to him.

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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.

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Related Words

• saunter