plods

verb

present tense third-person singular of plod
1
as in strives
to devote serious and sustained effort plodded night and day to get the assignment done

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in stumbles
to proceed or act clumsily or ineffectually oxen plodding through deep mud

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in shuffles
to move heavily or clumsily wayfarers plodding across the sandy wastes

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for plods
  1. strives
  2. stumbles
  3. drags
  4. shuffles
  5. struggles
  6. trudges
  7. crawls
  8. stomps
Verb
  • This is all while Venus in Libra strives for justice, balance, cooperation and relationships that feel mutually considerate.
    — Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 24 Aug. 2026
  • Chesney called Martin an unbelievable leader and said that his energy will give people a window into what his program strives to look like.
    — Connor Dullinger, Los Angeles Times, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of strives
Verb
  • In the movie, the two actors first cross paths when Ledger’s character stumbles upon Bettany, who is fully naked, strolling through the streets after losing his clothes and money from gambling.
    — Meredith Wilshere, PEOPLE, 22 Aug. 2026
  • Shortly after, a young man stumbles towards Pat from the direction of the pub, rubbing his eyes in disbelief.
    — Sheena McKenzie, CNN Money, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of stumbles
Verb
  • As the conflict drags on, damage to the Middle East will extend far beyond infrastructure.
    — Dina Esfandiary, Foreign Affairs, 27 Aug. 2026
  • And while American and Israeli strikes have battered Iran for months, the conflict has also taken a toll on Pentagon resources and American lives as the war drags on.
    — Steven Beynon, ABC News, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of drags
Verb
  • The line shuffles forward quickly, and my heart knots in my chest as Heartfillers are dosed to each person up ahead.
    — Carly Tagen-Dye, PEOPLE, 25 Aug. 2026
  • In the clip, Dawkins shuffles out onto the field with no shirt, a pair of Crocs and a clear plastic bag ready to get the ol' inside-out treatment.
    — Matt Reigle OutKick, FOXNews.com, 16 Aug. 2026
Definition of shuffles
Verb
  • Las Vegas struggles to generate second chances without her on the court.
    — Sabreena Merchant, New York Times, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Huang also pushed back against concerns that Nvidia could be left on the hook if one of those companies struggles.
    — Alexa LoMonaco, CNBC, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of struggles
Verb
  • Six months later, the war trudges on, indirectly ensnaring much of the world by severely disrupting global trade.
    — Mark Sappenfield, Christian Science Monitor, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Enola dutifully trudges between clues and possibilities, shuffling through crime scenes and racing around shady spaces, all of this much more paint-by-numbers than connect-the-dots.
    — Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 30 June 2026
Definition of trudges
Verb
  • Hairy-nosed wombat births are hard to spot, as after about a 30-day pregnancy, the joey crawls into its mother’s pouch.
    — Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 16 Aug. 2026
  • Researchers have developed a new control framework that enables humanoid robots to perform agile movements, including army crawls, breakdancing and backflips.
    — Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of crawls
Verb
  • Achord bounces on his toes like an impatient little kid watching his guys work, stomps his right foot on the ground and vaults his right arm forward to demonstrate how someone should return a kick.
    — Matt Schneidman, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026
  • If anything, the dichotomy between the pop star who prances around Versailles in a sheer nightie and the pop star who stomps onstage in knee-high combat boots feels completely authentic and intentional.
    — Chelsey Sanchez, CNN Money, 25 June 2026
Definition of stomps
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.

Browse Nearby Words

ploddingly
plods
plop
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Plods.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plods. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
skateboard-dog-hat
Wordmaxxing Slang Quiz Give your vocabulary a glow up by getting sendy w...
See All