Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

toddle

[tod-l]
See more synonyms for toddle on Thesaurus.com
verb (used without object), tod·dled, tod·dling.
  1. to move with short, unsteady steps, as a young child.
Show More
noun
  1. the act of toddling.
  2. an unsteady gait.
Show More

Origin of toddle

First recorded in 1490–1500; to(tter) + (wa)ddle
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for toddle

Historical Examples

  • I call him Toddle because that's about all he can do in the way of a walk.

    Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue in the Sunny South

    Laura Lee Hope

  • Let's toddle along and see what Fu Manchu has to say for himself.

  • You say well, Haimet, it was before your day; you were only beginning to toddle about when he died.

    One Snowy Night

    Emily Sarah Holt

  • She had from the time she could toddle around been constantly with her father.

  • He was the youngest of us, and could just toddle when Bill went away.

    The Two Whalers

    W.H.G. Kingston

British Dictionary definitions for toddle

toddle

verb (intr)
  1. to walk with short unsteady steps, as a child does when learning to walk
  2. (foll by off) jocular to depart
  3. (foll by round, over, etc) jocular to stroll; amble
Show More
noun
  1. the act or an instance of toddling
Show More

Word Origin

C16 (Scottish and northern English): of obscure origin
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

Word Origin and History for toddle

v.

"to run or walk with short, unsteady steps," c.1600, Scottish and northern British, of uncertain origin, possibly related to totter (1530s); an earlier sense of "to toy, play" is found c.1500. Related: Toddled; toddling.

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper