toddle

[ tod-l ]

/ ˈtɒd l /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR toddle ON THESAURUS.COM

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

to move with short, unsteady steps, as a young child.

noun

the act of toddling.

an unsteady gait.

RELATED WORDS

totter, wobble, waddle, stalk, patter

Nearby words

tocsin, tod, today, todd, todd's paralysis, toddle, toddler, toddlerhood, toddy, toddy palm, toddy table

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. 2019

Examples from the Web for toddle

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
"Bless her, she was always in and out of it from the time she could toddle," said Mrs. Brown, pausing with the teapot in her hand.
Back To Billabong|Mary Grant Bruce
Mrs. Carter blushed more than once to see her baby quit her and toddle across the room and greet Colburne's entrance.
Miss Ravenel's conversion from secession to loyalty|J. W. de Forest
So now in him you behold the baby toddler I spoke of; forced now to stand and toddle alone.
Pierre; or The Ambiguities|Herman Melville

Nothing wrong with jazz—where the lights go out in the dance hall and the dancers jiggle and toddle and wiggle in a frenzy?
The Call of the Canyon|Zane Grey

British Dictionary definitions for toddle

toddle

/ (ˈtɒdəl) /

verb (intr)

to walk with short unsteady steps, as a child does when learning to walk

(foll by off) jocular to depart

(foll by round, over, etc) jocular to stroll; amble

noun

the act or an instance of toddling

Word Origin for toddle

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

toddle

"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.