- to make (one's way) or walk along (a path, road, etc) with heavy usually slow steps
- (intransitive) to work slowly and perseveringly
- the act of plodding
- Brit slang a police officer
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
plod /plɑd/USA pronunciation
v. [no object], plod•ded, plod•ding.
-plod-, root.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- to walk heavily or with difficulty;
trudge:The old horse plodded slowly down the road. - to work or proceed with steady but slow or difficult progress:He plodded along at his job.
-plod-, root.
- -plod- comes from Latin, where it has the meaning "noise.'' This meaning is found in such words as: explode, implode.
plod
(plod),USA pronunciation v., plod•ded, plod•ding, n.
v.i.
v.t.
n.
plod′der, n.
plod′ding•ly, adv.
plod′ding•ness, n.
v.i.
- to walk heavily or move laboriously;
trudge:to plod under the weight of a burden. - to proceed in a tediously slow manner:The play just plodded along in the second act.
- to work with constant and monotonous perseverance;
drudge.
v.t.
- to walk heavily over or along.
n.
- the act or a course of plodding.
- a sound of a heavy tread.
- perh. imitative 1555–65
plod′ding•ly, adv.
plod′ding•ness, n.
- 1. See pace 1. 3. toil, moil, labor.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
plod /plɒd/ vb (plods, plodding, plodded)
'plodding' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):