plodded

verb

past tense of plod
1
as in labored
to devote serious and sustained effort plodded night and day to get the assignment done

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2
as in stumbled
to proceed or act clumsily or ineffectually oxen plodding through deep mud

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in dragged
to move slowly plodded reluctantly off to work

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4
as in shuffled
to move heavily or clumsily wayfarers plodding across the sandy wastes

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of plodded Minnesota’s defense has been unreliable lately, but Wisconsin’s offense has plodded most of the year. — Andy Greder, Twin Cities, 28 Nov. 2025 For months, the two initiatives plodded along, with photo ops and declarations of good will. — Jon Lee Anderson, New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2025 The Demon Deacons coach ran towards Belichick while removing his hat as the six-time Super Bowl champion coach plodded his way across the field for a blow-by handshake. — Andrew McCarty, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for plodded
  1. labored
  2. stumbled
  3. dragged
  4. shuffled
  5. struggled
  6. trudged
  7. crawled
  8. stomped
Verb
  • That left it to mixed, where the PBR teams labored past Chicago’s youngsters in two close mixed matches to win 3-1 and move onto the next round.
    — Todd Boss, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Wrobleski labored his previous two starts, giving up 12 runs and eight homers in 10 1/3 innings.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of labored
Verb
  • Athletic Club stumbled through most of last season, in part due to star forward Nico Williams never reaching 100 per cent fitness.
    — Dermot Corrigan, New York Times, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Andropov died in 1984, and Gorbachev took more than a year to gain power while the Kremlin stumbled along under the caretaker regime of the grievously ill Konstantin Chernenko.
    — Tom Nichols, The Atlantic, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of stumbled
Verb
  • One of English football’s most historic names had been dragged to the brink under previous owner Dejphon Chansiri last season — into administration and almost beneath the surface.
    — Philip Buckingham, New York Times, 14 Aug. 2026
  • No, it’s being dragged by two large straps and rolling along on a quintet of wheels, stuffed with dirty laundry or maybe this week’s groceries.
    — Max Berlinger, Vogue, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of dragged
Verb
  • The Playoff remains parked at 12 teams, and some G6 conferences shuffled teams, now including North Dakota State and Sacramento State.
    — Jason Kirk, New York Times, 31 July 2026
  • Black voters were shuffled around Houston, with much of the previous 9th Congressional District becoming the new 18th District.
    — Rahul Mukherjee, NPR, 23 July 2026
Definition of shuffled
Verb
  • People half his age with serious mountain experience struggled and marvelled at him leading them to the top.
    — Andy Mitten, New York Times, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Whisenhunt had struggled in his last three starts leading up to Tuesday, allowing 14 earned runs and walking nine batters over his last 11 2/3 innings.
    — Justice delos Santos, Mercury News, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of struggled
Verb
  • Kolisi trudged off in the 25th minute of his first match in seven weeks after damaging his hamstring.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 8 Aug. 2026
  • The man who trudged across the state for a few minutes to speak to Democrats to tell his story — and make the case against a governor that most of them undoubtedly had voted for in two previous elections — is an introvert.
    — Mark Pazniokas, Hartford Courant, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of trudged
Verb
  • Traffic crawled at a creep along Independence Boulevard in those days.
    — DJ Simmons, Charlotte Observer, 15 Aug. 2026
  • Seven hid under a kitchen chest freezer while five crawled on the wall next to the three-compartment sink.
    — David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of crawled
Verb
  • That was broken up by Owens, who stomped Gunther and then caught him with a big clothesline.
    — Blake Oestriecher, Forbes.com, 2 Aug. 2026
  • Ten members of a Pennsylvania high school football team, including several coaches, face charges after a player was allegedly stomped with cleats, and jabbed in the buttocks with a broomstick.
    — Adam Sabes, FOXNews.com, 30 July 2026
Definition of stomped

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plodded
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Cite this Entry

“Plodded.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plodded. Accessed 16 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of plodded for Spanish Speakers

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