waddle

[ wod-l ]

/ ˈwɒd l /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR waddle ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object), wad·dled, wad·dling.

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

an act or instance of waddling, especially a waddling gait.

Nearby words

wadai, waddenzee, waddesdon manor, wadding, waddington, waddle, waddy, wade, wade in, wade, benjamin franklin, wade-giles system

Origin of waddle

1350–1400; Middle English; see wade, -le; compare German watteln

Related forms

wad·dler, nounwad·dling·ly, adverbwad·dly, adjectiveun·wad·dling, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for waddle

That fact can be confirmed by standing on any street corner in any city of the country and watching Americans waddle by.
Free to Be Fat|Richard B. McKenzie|November 23, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Through the whole afternoon he snarled at Waddle; but Waddle sat silent, bending over the ledger.
Ralph the Heir|Anthony Trollope
He looks good and kind, not at all as though he would ever throw stones at people for the fun of seeing them waddle faster.
Tales of a Poultry Farm|Clara Dillingham Pierson
Upon retiring from the Exchange he is said to waddle out of the Alley.
The Slang Dictionary|John Camden Hotten

Miss Waddle's experience of the nobler sex was limited, but her sentiment in the main was a correct one.
Norine's Revenge; Sir Noel's Heir|May Agnes Fleming
And another: "Their legs have grown crooked with much rowing, till they waddle in their walk like ducks."
Myths That Every Child Should Know|Various

British Dictionary definitions for waddle

waddle

/ (ˈwɒdəl) /

verb (intr)

to walk with short steps, rocking slightly from side to side

noun

a swaying gait or motion

Derived Forms

waddler, nounwaddling, adjectivewaddly, adjective

Word Origin for waddle

C16: probably frequentative of wade

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012