1
as in shuffled
to move heavily or clumsily
the elephant lumbered through the jungle
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in stumbled
to proceed or act clumsily or ineffectually
the novel's plot lumbers to its predictable conclusion after 500 long pages
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3
4
as in loaded
to place a weight or burden on
preparations that will lumber the expedition with unnecessary equipment and supplies
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of lumbered
The raccoon took the hint, shimmied down the rope and lumbered onto a ladder before making a less-than-graceful landing on the porch below.
—
Ronnie Li, USA Today, 16 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lumbered
Verb
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Empty boxes were stacked along a side wall in the locker room as players shuffled in and out to pack up a season’s worth of shirts and jerseys and cleats and memorabilia.—
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First, the sophomore shuffled back into coverage after showing A-gap pressure to intercept a Bryce Underwood pass over the middle of the field, ending a key fourth-quarter drive.—
Verb
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Naumov and Torgashev moved onto the podium after several other contenders stumbled Saturday.—
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On New Year’s Eve, 1962, Weir stumbled upon Dana Morgan’s Music Store in Palo Alto, where Jerry Garcia taught guitar.—
Verb
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Last year the Eagles rumbled to plus-12, the widest margin of the century to date.—
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Morton committed his second turnover of the day when edge rusher Matayo Uiagalelei ripped the ball from the hands of the Red Raiders quarterback and rumbled down to the Texas Tech 6-yard line.—
Verb
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The entire Winnipeg Jets team left the bench to surround Fleury as he was loaded onto the stretcher.—
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The extension loaded its own logo, extracted the hidden code and executed it silently.—
Verb
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Jenkins brutally stomped and punched Coto, who was severely injured and put on life support.—
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The disarmingly handsome comic adopted the delivery of a smarmy newsman and deadpanned a joke about the hatching of a baby sandpiper, a triumph for the zoo where it was born, until the bird was stomped to death by a baby hippo born a day earlier.—
Verb
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When one of Adam Burkhammer's foster children struggled with hyperactivity, the West Virginia legislator and his wife decided to alter their diet and remove any foods that contained synthetic dyes.—
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Gilgeous-Alexander -- one of only two players in the NBA averaging 30-plus points (with the Lakers’ Luka Doncic) -- struggled against the Heat’s swarming defense early, shooting 1 for 7 in a three-point first quarter and going to the half with 11.—
Verb
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That saddled the combined company with an untenable $50 billion in debt even as cable networks cratered and viewers flocked to streaming.—
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Newsom said in September that Trump’s decision to deploy troops to Los Angeles amounted to costly political theater that saddled taxpayers with a nearly $120-million bill.—
Verb
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Like a little-and-large tag-team, the fuming pair had raced down the touchline to remonstrate with Millwall defender Alan Dunne after Bradford striker James Hanson had been barged over the pitchside advertising hoarding.—
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And though not new, the Black and Blue (2025 Mix) by the Rolling Stones barged its way back into my rotation; some obsessions, like certain bands and certain years, refuse to stay politely in the past.—
Cite this Entry
“Lumbered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lumbered. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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