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toddle

verb · noun

Simple meaning

To walk unsteadily, as a small child does.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

tahduhl

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈtɑdəl

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.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. To walk unsteadily, as a small child does.

  2. To walk or travel in a carefree manner.

noun

  1. A carefree or aimless gait; a stroll.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
C2 · Proficient (estimated)
Typical Use
Rare

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: To walk unsteadily, as a small child does.

Used this way, toddle is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It stays understated rather than dramatic. It turns up most in family or home contexts.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Mild
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Where it naturally appears

  • Family/home

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use toddle

  • “Small children toddle.”verb

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

toddle alongtoddle housetoddle backtoddle awaytoddle aftertoddle alonescarcely toddle

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • toddlernounInflected form

    A young child.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: to walk unsteadily or as a small child does

totter

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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.