sidle

[ sahyd-l ]

See synonyms for: sidle sidled on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object),si·dled, si·dling.

to move sideways or obliquely.
to edge along furtively.

noun

a sidling movement.

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)

Other words from sidle

si·dling·ly, adverb
un·si·dling, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use sidle in a sentence

Try sidling up to a bar in Brooklyn and announcing that you've never seen a single second of The Wire or Friday Night Lights.
‘True Detective’ Review: You Have to Watch HBO’s Revolutionary Crime Classic | Andrew Romano | January 11, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Still, Obama sidling up to bondholders should come as no surprise.
Barack Obama’s Herbert Hoover Budget a Political Boon for Republicans | Lloyd Green | April 12, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
These are worthwhile questions, usually considered before sidling up to the word processor.
Is Fiction Worthless? David Shields Think So | Jacob Silverman | February 8, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
Mercury sidling up to the Sun offers a clear outline for networking your way out of any stifling hives trying to assimilate you.
The Stars Predict Your Week | Starsky + Cox | September 18, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
They deployed much like Western drug dealers, sidling up to pedestrians to whisper, “Dog, got a dog.”
The Lighter Side of Islam | Neil MacFarquhar | May 6, 2009 | THE DAILY BEAST

"It is magnificent to be such a willing—" added Schliemann, sidling up to him with a dreadful leer on his face.
Three More John Silence Stories | Algernon Blackwood
The yellow-eyed girl came sidling forward and rubbed herself against his thigh, head, shoulder and flank.
The Stars, My Brothers | Edmond Hamilton
All in a quiver, he champed the bit, and came sidling up the road with arched neck, and foam churning from his jaws.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 67, Number 414, April, 1850 | Various
But, go sidling or go straight, Uncas had seen the movement, and their trail led us on to the broken bush.
The Last of the Mohicans | James Fenimore Cooper
With a staff in one hand and screening her eyes with the other, old Rachel comes sidling down the steps.
The Saxons | Edwin Davies Schoonmaker

British Dictionary definitions for sidle

sidle

/ (ˈsaɪdəl) /

verb(intr)

to move in a furtive or stealthy manner; edge along
to move along sideways

noun

a sideways movement

Origin of sidle

C17: back formation from obsolete sideling sideways

Derived forms of sidle

sidler, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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