1
as in to struggle
to devote serious and sustained effort
plodded night and day to get the assignment done
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2
as in to stumble
to proceed or act clumsily or ineffectually
oxen plodding through deep mud
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
4
as in to shuffle
to move heavily or clumsily
wayfarers plodding across the sandy wastes
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of plod
The 14 plodding possessions over the final 16 minutes in which the shot clock dipped under 10 seconds and the panicked Aztecs managed just four points.
—
Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Dec. 2024
By the pure measure of hours and minutes on a clock, Sunday’s game went fast even if both teams looked plodding and stuffy at times.
—Jourdan Rodrigue, The Athletic, 22 Dec. 2024
The dramatized version simply floats, roils and plods forward as if being tugged dutifully along, ticking off checkpoints along the way.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 28 Feb. 2025
McConnell's plodding style contrasts with Trump's bravado, but the former Senate Republican leader set aside intraparty slings and arrows long enough to transform the federal judiciary and ease Trump's three Supreme Court nominees' paths to confirmation.
—Tom Rogers, Newsweek, 21 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for plod
Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Dec. 2024
By the pure measure of hours and minutes on a clock, Sunday’s game went fast even if both teams looked plodding and stuffy at times.
—Jourdan Rodrigue, The Athletic, 22 Dec. 2024
The dramatized version simply floats, roils and plods forward as if being tugged dutifully along, ticking off checkpoints along the way.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 28 Feb. 2025
McConnell's plodding style contrasts with Trump's bravado, but the former Senate Republican leader set aside intraparty slings and arrows long enough to transform the federal judiciary and ease Trump's three Supreme Court nominees' paths to confirmation.
—Tom Rogers, Newsweek, 21 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for plod
Recent Examples of Synonyms for plod
Verb
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And their struggling offense is becoming a major concern.—
Jaylon Thompson,
Kansas City Star,
18 Apr. 2025
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Behind her glamorous exterior, the real Dorothy was a closeted lesbian who struggled with substance abuse and was mistreated by the men within Hollywood’s studio system before ultimately committing suicide.—
Abby Monteil,
Them.,
17 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Woman Makes 'Creepy' Find In Thrift Store By Alice Gibbs Senior Life and Trends Reporter Newsweek Is A Trust Project Member news article 0 A thrift store shopper from Scotland stumbled on something unexpected in her local store when a beautiful glass paperweight caught her eye.—
Arick Wierson,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Apr. 2025
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Contractors renovating a historic home in Belgium stumbled upon the entrance to a secret tunnel identified by archaeologists as an escape route from World War I.—
Aspen Pflughoeft,
Miami Herald,
14 Apr. 2025
Verb
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The longer the trade war drags on, the more likely Washington and Beijing will find other ways to retaliate beyond economics.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Apr. 2025
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Paleontologists used to wonder if some marine reptiles did the same, awkwardly dragging themselves onto beaches to lay eggs rather than birthing their young at sea like whales do.—
Riley Black,
Smithsonian Magazine,
17 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Pretty much everything else is shuffled off to the infotainment system, a single circular touchscreen that lives in the middle of the dash.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
10 Apr. 2025
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While events were shuffled around to fit a new schedule, the royals will also be about to pace themselves following the monarch's recent health setback.—
Stephanie Petit,
People.com,
7 Apr. 2025
Verb
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If a cell harbors many black morphogens, for example, and a neighboring cell harbors few of them, then the molecules strive to move such that they are distributed as evenly as possible.—
Manon Bischoff,
Scientific American,
16 Apr. 2025
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The school could strive for excellence and integrity while doing fewer things.—
Jeannie Suk Gersen,
New Yorker,
15 Apr. 2025
Verb
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In the last 26 years, Larson has trudged to that luggage area thousands of times.—
Kevin Rennie,
Hartford Courant,
5 Apr. 2025
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The walk over here had taken me three hours, trudging uphill on a gravel road.—
Tim Brinkhof,
Travel + Leisure,
5 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Simply fill the moat with water to keep unwanted pests from crawling down to the nectar ports.—
Caley Sturgill,
Southern Living,
12 Apr. 2025
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And setting your baby down on the ground to crawl around isn’t the cleanest option.—
BestReviews,
Mercury News,
11 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Malone was more willing to lean on the trio of second-year players this year, but the Nuggets have gotten stomped in their minutes without three-time MVP Nikola Jokić.—
Bryan Toporek,
Forbes.com,
9 Apr. 2025
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John and Carlile get loud here, stomping and slamming around for a tight little radio-length banger. 75.—
Shana Naomi Krochmal,
Vulture,
4 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Plod.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plod. Accessed 25 Apr. 2025.
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