amble

[am-buhl]

verb (used without object)

ambled, ambling 

1. to go at a slow, easy pace; stroll; saunter.

   He ambled around the town.

   Synonyms: meander, ramble

2. (of a horse) to go at a slow pace with the legs moving in lateral pairs and usually having a four-beat rhythm.

noun

1. an ambling gait.

2. a slow, easy walk or gentle pace.

3. a stroll.

amble

/ ˈæmbəl /

verb

1. to walk at a leisurely relaxed pace

2. (of a horse) to move slowly, lifting both legs on one side together

3. to ride a horse at an amble or leisurely pace

noun

1. a leisurely motion in walking

2. a leisurely walk

3. the ambling gait of a horse

Other Word Forms

• ambler noun
• amblingly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of amble¹

1350–1400; Middle English < Middle French ambler < Latin ambulāre to walk, equivalent to amb- ambi- + -ulāre to step ( *-el- + stem vowel -ā-; cognate with Welsh el- may go, Greek elaúnein to set in motion)

Word History and Origins

Origin of amble¹

C14: from Old French ambler, from Latin ambulāre to walk

Example Sentences

When he finally ambled off, Goodall hurried over for a closer look.

From Los Angeles Times

Occasionally, my wife and I pause to read as we amble across to visit our late son, inurned near a Gothic Revival gate crowned by nests of monk parakeets.

From Los Angeles Times

Wilson, allow wild animals to amble down directly into the community of 11,000.

From Los Angeles Times

Each played unique arrangements of the songs, not quite synchronized, but if you ambled the long walkways, you heard the material in different contexts as though this were sonic surrealism.

From Los Angeles Times

When the pair got home from their amble, Brown scratched his tickets.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• drift 
• loiter 
• meander 
• mosey 
• ramble 
• sashay 
• saunter 
• stroll 
• toddle 
• wander