waddle

[wod-l]

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.

Origin of waddle

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

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for waddled

totter, wobble, toddle, wiggle, sway, shuffle, rock

Examples from the Web for waddled

Contemporary Examples of waddled

The next day “I marched in—or more like waddled in—to see Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin in their office.”
The Chief Problem With 'Lean In'
David Frum
May 20, 2013
He waddled when he walked, books under arm and sheets of paper in hand–a happily disheveled image that made me grin.
Iraq War 10th Anniversary: What Does Fiasco Mean?
John Kael Weston
March 18, 2013

Historical Examples of waddled

Whereat she waddled to the table to wait for the hot cakes to arrive.
The Gorgeous Girl
Nalbro Bartley
She waddled to the door and Olive followed her meekly, but she could not keep her lips from smiling.
Olive in Italy
Moray Dalton
The Baroness, to tell the truth, waddled rather than stepped to the rostrum.
Is He Popenjoy?
Anthony Trollope
Ruth ran up-stairs, and Fuller waddled into the room where Reuben waited.
Aunt Rachel
David Christie Murray
He caught at the bell-pull in passing, gave it a tug, and waddled off to his bedroom.
Despair's Last Journey
David Christie Murray

British Dictionary definitions for waddled

waddle

verb (intr)

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

noun

a swaying gait or motion

Derived Formswaddler, 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

Word Origin and History for waddled

waddle

"to walk with short steps," 1590s, frequentative of wade. Related: Waddled; waddling. The noun is recorded from 1690s.