trudge
Americanverb (used without object)
-
trudges,
present (3rd person singular)
-
trudged,
past participle, past
-
trudging
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
trudges,
present (3rd person singular)
-
trudged,
past participle, past
-
trudging
present participle
noun
-
trudges
plural
verb
-
(intr) to walk or plod heavily or wearily
-
(tr) to pass through or over by trudging
noun
Synonym Usage
See pace 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
trudgesimple
-
trudgessimple
-
have trudgedperfect
-
has trudgedperfect
-
am trudgingprogressive
-
are trudgingprogressive
-
is trudgingprogressive
-
have been trudgingperfect progressive
-
has been trudgingperfect progressive
Past
-
trudgedsimple
-
had trudgedperfect
-
was trudgingprogressive
-
were trudgingprogressive
-
had been trudgingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of trudge
First recorded in 1540โ50; perhaps blend of tread and drudge
Explanation
To trudge is to walk in a heavy, exhausted way. Your grandpa probably tells you about how he used to trudge six miles uphill through a foot of snow in the brutal cold every morning just to get to school. Trudge is also a noun that means a difficult, labored walk. If you take a mile-long trudge through heavy snow or mud, your steps will be slower and it will require more effort to put one foot in front of the other. Need help remembering what trudge means? Say it out loud. Trudge rhymes with sludge โ and walking through sludge, or thick muck, would cause you to trudge.
Vocabulary lists containing trudge
List 3
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Touching Spirit Bear
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Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
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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.
See Examples For:
We trudge through entire chapters bearing names like “The Sea and the Desert” or “The Beach Again” without meeting another living soul.
From The Wall Street Journal โ May 29, 2026
The job market continues to trudge along with little hiring and little firing.
From MarketWatch โ Apr. 3, 2026
On the now daily trudge to work through the snow and ice, I came across a mum and daughter scraping their car clear of heavy snow.
From BBC โ Jan. 9, 2026
“Although almost all of those still kind of trudge along in some state or another.”
From Los Angeles Times โ Nov. 26, 2025
But then she get up and trudge down the hall.
From "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett
On a cold November morning, designer Isaac Mizrahi gets up, leaves his apartment, and trudges to the corner newsstand to pick up a copy of Women’s Wear Daily.
From Salon โ Sep. 5, 2026
In a country better known for industrial farming, highly processed food and suspiciously long-lasting bread, Chuck Childers rises before dawn and trudges off to operate one of America's oldest functioning gristmills.
From Barron's โ Sep. 3, 2026
A young woman trudges back to her apartment after a day of work.
From BBC โ Aug. 1, 2026
For now, Zombie LIV trudges on at a tournament in Mexico City that neither you or I are watching.
From The Wall Street Journal โ Apr. 17, 2026
He lingers a little longer, turns, and trudges off, dissolving into the darkness.
From "I Am the Messenger" by Markus Zusak
Pedestrians in plastic rain ponchos trudged through murky floodwaters in Bangkok's east -- knee-deep in some areas of a grocery store parking lot -- floating their belongings in plastic tubs alongside them, AFP journalists saw.
From Barron's โ Sep. 27, 2026
Rescuers trudged through thick mud and debris on Thursday as Nepalese authorities rushed to bring aid and relief supplies to the affected areas.
From BBC โ Aug. 27, 2026
Worn down, he muted the show, handed it over to another host and trudged up the stairs to his office to do the math manually.
From The Wall Street Journal โ Jun. 27, 2026
“This is the tragedy of Karbala,” the crowd responded as the procession trudged through Nabatieh’s central district, pulverized after weeks of intense Israeli strikes.
From Los Angeles Times โ Jun. 22, 2026
Once Dad and Mr. P were safely on the sand, I trudged to where the trucks were lined up.
From "The Line Tender" by Kate Allen
We would be trudging up the hill to find the man who threw the switch.
From Salon โ Sep. 12, 2026
The image of Zinedine Zidane trudging past the pitchside World Cup trophy is legendary.
From BBC โ Jul. 17, 2026
The largest beef processor in the U.S. by volume is among companies trudging through a nationwide cattle shortage that’s driving up prices.
From The Wall Street Journal โ Mar. 25, 2026
Johnson was dismissed in the 55th minute after clattering into Lopez, a needless challenge that initially earned a yellow card from Erik Lambrechts before VAR sent him trudging to the dressing room.
From Barron's โ Nov. 4, 2025
He nodded to Ivan trudging across the field.
From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, ยฉ Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritageยฎ Idioms Dictionary copyright ยฉ 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
