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 1540–50; 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 — and walking through sludge, or thick muck, would cause you to trudge.
Vocabulary lists containing trudge
List 3
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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 ● May 29, 2026
Analysts have pointed to a few reasons they believe stocks are set to trudge higher into New Year’s Day.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 21, 2025
On a blistering summer day, Aduba quickly styled her hair in Bantu knots as she prepared to trudge to another round of back-to-back auditions, certain more nos were on the way.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 19, 2025
Weary residents trudge through the streets as bulldozers try to scoop up the liquid mess.
From BBC ● Nov. 15, 2024
I comb it side to side twice, weigh what I’ve got, and then trudge up the stairs to throw everything out.
From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy
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 ● 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 ● Sep. 3, 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 ● Apr. 17, 2026
When the boy’s not looking, Jamie’s shoulders sag as he trudges up the stairs to Isla’s sickbed, showing us a hint of adult complexities he alone understands.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2025
He eyes Drew, who trudges at the back of the group, and says, “Pickup the pace, Drew!”
From "Divergent" by Veronica Roth
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 ● Sep. 27, 2026
Workers trudged miles to their jobs as horses were too weak to pull streetcars.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 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 ● Jun. 22, 2026
Two elephants trudged across a makeshift football field at Mexico's Guadalajara Zoo in a whacky attempt to predict the score of the 2026 World Cup's opening game.
From Barron's ● Jun. 6, 2026
He stood up and trudged into the house, his figure as bent as if he were carrying a heavy load of wood on his strong shoulders.
From "Tiger Boy" by Mitali Perkins
We would be trudging up the hill to find the man who threw the switch.
From Salon ● Sep. 12, 2026
He is a solitary, trudging in his galoshes through the snows of West Hartford, Conn., on his way to work.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 16, 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 ● Nov. 4, 2025
The sight of the downcast and dejected Mohamed Salah trudging off as Liverpool desperately chased an equaliser against Manchester United was an ominous symbol of their current struggles.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2025
Four eunuchs paced beside the horses, two to either side, and more were trudging along behind to guard the baggage train.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
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