toddle
Americanverb (used without object)
noun
-
the act of toddling.
-
an unsteady gait.
verb
-
to walk with short unsteady steps, as a child does when learning to walk
-
humorous (foll by off) to depart
-
humorous to stroll; amble
noun
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
toddlesimple
-
toddlessimple
-
have toddledperfect
-
has toddledperfect
-
are toddlingprogressive
-
am toddlingprogressive
-
is toddlingprogressive
-
have been toddlingperfect progressive
-
has been toddlingperfect progressive
Past
-
toddledsimple
-
had toddledperfect
-
was toddlingprogressive
-
were toddlingprogressive
-
had been toddlingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of toddle
Explanation
When you toddle, you wobble a bit on your legs as you walk. It's most common to see very small children toddle around. A baby who's just learned how to walk can be said to toddle, staggering a little on short legs. The littlest kids at preschool still tend to toddle around their classroom, somewhat unsteady on their feet. The verb toddle comes from a Scottish word whose origin isn't known — the earliest meaning was "to play." The noun toddler comes from toddle, and it means "child just learning to walk."
Vocabulary lists containing toddle
Endangered
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Where the Watermelons Grow
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No Vacancy
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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.
When Toddle Houses located competing restaurants near Dobbs Houses and started a price war, Jimmy Dobbs hammered back.
From Time Magazine Archive
But not long after they bought into the Toddle Houses food shops, a Southern restaurant chain, they got in a fight with other directors who opposed their system of employee profit sharing.
From Time Magazine Archive
Dr. Freeland, who is a big fast three-year-old horse out of Toddle by Light Brigade, humped his shoulders and won the race in a rushing finish.
From Time Magazine Archive
Toddle breathed in a hoarse whisper of astonishment, "sequesteration?" and he stared, big-eyed, with his brows arched.
From The House with the Green Shutters by Brown, George Douglas
She played the Tommy Toddle, and her runs were perfect.
From Gigolo by Ferber, Edna
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.
