waddle
Americanverb (used without object)
-
waddles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
waddled,
past participle, past
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waddling
present participle
-
to walk with short steps, swaying or rocking from side to side, as a duck.
-
to move in any similar, slow, rocking manner; wobble.
The ship waddled into port.
noun
-
waddles
plural
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
waddlesimple
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waddlessimple
-
have waddledperfect
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has waddledperfect
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am waddlingprogressive
-
are waddlingprogressive
-
is waddlingprogressive
-
have been waddlingperfect progressive
-
has been waddlingperfect progressive
Past
-
waddledsimple
-
had waddledperfect
-
was waddlingprogressive
-
were waddlingprogressive
-
had been waddlingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of waddle
1350–1400; Middle English; see wade, -le; compare German watteln
Explanation
A duck's walk is a waddle. To imitate it, turn your feet away from each other and take short clumsy steps that make you swing unsteadily from side to side. Ducks aren't the only animals known to waddle. Penguins with their little tiny feet may waddle along the ice, though they move gracefully through the water. If your footing is unsteady, you might waddle a little too as you tread carefully. Don't confuse waddle with wattle. A wattle is the red bit of flesh that hangs from the necks of turkeys and chickens. Wattles waddle back and forth as birds waddle along.
Vocabulary lists containing waddle
"Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare, Act I
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Hot to Trot: Animal Ambulation
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25 Ways of Walking
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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:
Hundreds of thousands of tourists a year flock to viewing areas and boardwalks to watch the diminutive sea birds waddle ashore and along the beach in the evenings on the eastern coast's Phillip Island.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
It couldn’t waddle or sway without components from Chinese robot maker Unitree that power the motion of its neck and legs, according to a research paper by Disney.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 3, 2026
Poor circulation in his legs has turned his walk into more of a waddle.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 6, 2024
That part of the leg, they say, is where fibular reduction among some dinosaurs tens of millions of years ago helped make it possible for peacocks to strut, penguins to waddle, and turkeys to trot.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 20, 2024
"Now spit out your business and waddle away, Imp."
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
In fact, the accusatory Atlantic piece waddles toward the conclusion that on a risk-adjusted basis, the train isn’t especially deadly.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 5, 2025
When E.T. waddles into the kids’ lives, his supernatural abilities are like an extension of their vivid imaginations.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 14, 2022
“I’m a short, stocky kid that waddles around the track,” he said, “and somehow I ran 1:42.9.”
From New York Times ● Aug. 3, 2021
It is a flightless bird from the Galapagos Islands — but it looks like a pear-shaped bush that waddles when it walks.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 1, 2021
The receptionist waddles to the back in her tented dress.
From "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett
King got into the spirit, mocking the way Riggs waddled around court like a duck.
From BBC ● Dec. 27, 2025
Play, a four-year-old French bulldog, waddled down the street in Noho.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 28, 2025
A flock of brown pelicans waddled back into the wild on Wednesday morning, survivors of Southern California’s latest toxic algal bloom.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2025
Frederik got the nickname “Pingo” because of an episode when his wetsuit was filled with water and he waddled like a penguin, he said in a 2010 interview with Danish public broadcaster DR.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 11, 2024
Now, as he spread his cloak on the ground, the white pig grunted with pleasure, waddled over, and hunkered down beside him.
From "The Book of Three" by Lloyd Alexander
A friendly dragon is waddling along the sun-drenched centre of Swindon, smiling at passers-by.
From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2026
What it picked up was a rotund raccoon waddling by.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 5, 2026
When some think of the late Queen Elizabeth, her waddling corgis come to mind.
From Salon ● Apr. 23, 2024
Mr. Hart said after a heartfelt tribute from his friend the comedian Dave Chappelle, before waddling offstage at the John Kennedy F. Center for the Performing Arts in Washington.
From New York Times ● Mar. 25, 2024
The crossbow thrummed, Lord Tywin sat back down, and Tyrion Lannister found himself waddling through the darkness with Varys at his side.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
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.
