as in to stagger
to move forward while swaying from side to side
the duck waddled back into the water we watched the penguins waddle over the ice together
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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of waddle
Does this proposition hold for a chatbot? Minsky, arguably, began with a duck that waddled onto the world stage in 1738, in France, the third of three automata built by an inventor named Jacques de Vaucanson.
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Jill Lepore, The New Yorker, 30 Sep. 2024
At the Peabody Memphis, five resident mallard ducks rule the roost and waddle through this institution's grand lobby twice a day.
—Catherine Garcia, theweek, 5 Nov. 2024
But just as the slippery pitter patter of Juan Salvador’s webbed feet waddling forward can’t help but endear viewers to him, Michell comes around.
—Beandrea July, IndieWire, 7 Sep. 2024
In a TikTok shared by SEA LIFE Melbourne on Sept. 25, viewed over 2.1 million times, Pesto waddles behind an adult King Penguin but manages to dwarf the older bird in size.
—Kelli Bender, Peoplemag, 25 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for waddle 
Jill Lepore, The New Yorker, 30 Sep. 2024
At the Peabody Memphis, five resident mallard ducks rule the roost and waddle through this institution's grand lobby twice a day.
—Catherine Garcia, theweek, 5 Nov. 2024
But just as the slippery pitter patter of Juan Salvador’s webbed feet waddling forward can’t help but endear viewers to him, Michell comes around.
—Beandrea July, IndieWire, 7 Sep. 2024
In a TikTok shared by SEA LIFE Melbourne on Sept. 25, viewed over 2.1 million times, Pesto waddles behind an adult King Penguin but manages to dwarf the older bird in size.
—Kelli Bender, Peoplemag, 25 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for waddle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for waddle
Verb
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When Oklahoma City signed the former New York Knick this past offseason, the vision was for the pair of 7-footers to coexist on the floor while also staggering their minutes some to ensure one was almost always on the court.Nick Crain, Forbes, 21 Dec. 2024
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Their successors would serve terms that would be staggered, with one term expiring every two years.Tobi Raji The Washington Post, arkansasonline.com, 8 Dec. 2024
Verb
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After being hailed for years as a rare GOP moderate, Gov. Spencer Cox lurched to the political right this year.Erin Alberty, Axios, 20 Dec. 2024
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Downshifts worked a little better, since doing so never ran the risk of hitting fuel cutoff and lurching forward, thereby ruining corner entry.Michael Teo Van Runkle, Forbes, 19 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Auroras are ribbons of light weaving across Earth's northern or southern polar regions, according to NASA.Chad Murphy, The Enquirer, 31 Dec. 2024
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Nonproliferation is deeply woven into U.S. foreign policy.Robert E. Kelly, Foreign Affairs, 30 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Then there's the small, sweet moments—video of my goddaughter tottering in her first pair of shoes; my cat caught mid-yawn; a selfie of me and my dad on a date to the symphony.Malia Griggs, Glamour, 18 Dec. 2024
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Iraqi state institutions such as these were already tottering, and these actions threaten to erode them further.Michael Knights, Foreign Affairs, 5 June 2023
Verb
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House Republicans on Thursday shuffled in and out of Speaker Mike Johnson's office as the clock ticked toward the shutdown deadline.Josh Meyer, USA TODAY, 20 Dec. 2024
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On the next spread, the characters are shuffled around, and you are asked to once again identify the row your character is in and follow the instructions to a specific page and figure.Megan Gambino, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Dec. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Waddle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/waddle. Accessed 5 Jan. 2025.
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