waddle

[wod-l]

verb (used without object)

waddled, waddling 

1. to walk with short steps, swaying or rocking from side to side, as a duck.

2. to move in any similar, slow, rocking manner; wobble.

   The ship waddled into port.

noun

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

waddle

/ ˈwɒdəl /

verb

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

noun

1. a swaying gait or motion

Other Word Forms

• waddling adjective
• waddly adjective
• waddler noun
• waddlingly adverb
• unwaddling adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of waddle¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of waddle¹

C16: probably frequentative of _wade

Example Sentences

I boldly say as I waddle because I’m also playing a penguin.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

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.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

A flock of brown pelicans waddled back into the wild on Wednesday morning, survivors of Southern California’s latest toxic algal bloom.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

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."

Read more on BBC

By that afternoon, she was instead “waddling around from appointment to appointment, talking about how to get the cancer out.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• toddle 
• totter 
• wiggle 
• wobble