plod
verb · noun
Simple meaning
Walk heavily and firmly, as when weary, or through mud.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
plahdIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈplɑd
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
Walk heavily and firmly, as when weary, or through mud
“Mules plodded in a circle around a grindstone.”
intransitive
To walk or move slowly and heavily or laboriously (+ on, through, over).
transitive
To trudge over or through.
intransitive
To toil; to drudge; especially, to study laboriously and patiently.
transitive
To extrude (soap, margarine, etc.) through a die plate so it can be cut into billets.
noun
A slow or labored walk or other motion or activity.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Walk heavily and firmly, as when weary, or through mud
Used this way, plod is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“Mules plodded in a circle around a grindstone.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Usage note
It most often appears in the pattern “plod in …”, which is worth copying when you use it.
Nearby words
- slog , rarer, so it draws attention
Natural pattern: plod in …
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.