waddle
Americanverb (used without object)
-
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
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
- unwaddling adjective
- waddler noun
- waddling adjective
- waddlingly adverb
- waddly adjective
Etymology
Origin of waddle
1350–1400; Middle English; wade, -le; compare German watteln
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.
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
Visibly nearing the end of her pregnancy, she walked slowly, with a slight waddle.
From BBC • Dec. 28, 2022
My enthusiasm plummeted when he failed to trot, waddle, or even slink down the hall.
From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas
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.
