waddle
Americanverb (used without object)
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waddles,
present (3rd person singular)
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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
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waddles
plural
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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waddlesimple
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waddlessimple
-
have waddledperfect
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has waddledperfect
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am waddlingprogressive
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are waddlingprogressive
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is waddlingprogressive
-
have been waddlingperfect progressive
-
has been waddlingperfect progressive
Past
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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:
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
I boldly say as I waddle because I’m also playing a penguin.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2025
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
The family were able to watch them come in from the sea on their bellies and waddle across the beaches fast as they could to avoid patrolling sealions.
From BBC ● Dec. 22, 2023
“Your clincher clue was waddle? That seems to work,” Wilder responded.
From "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell
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
Afterward, she waddles through the ring-side seating in her white and pink sparkly sneakers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2024
The contest says it promotes the adoption of dogs, even ones that might have “missing fur, crossed eyes, duck waddles or mismatched ears.”
From New York Times ● Jun. 25, 2022
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
Now, after stretching his wings he retracts them again, stretches out his head, and waddles, making his tedious way up one branch and down another.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
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
Her caption in the now-deleted post read: "My dream of holding a wombat has been realised! Baby and mom slowly waddled back off together into the bush."
From BBC ● Mar. 13, 2025
Jennifer Jackson, nanny to 21-month-old Wade Bracht, kept a careful eye on the toddler, who waddled in his stylish brown cowboy boots, exploring every corner of the play area.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 20, 2023
He was short and waddled like most kings.
From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri
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
Now, HBO’s “The Penguin,” fleshing out the origin story of the waddling, tuxedo-clad “gentleman mobster” after more than 80 years as one of the Caped Crusader’s best-known adversaries, has earned a staggering 24 Emmy nominations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2025
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
Tyrion made a waddling bow, but at the cabin door, he turned back.
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.
