as in to shift
to change one's position
most babies begin to locomote—by crawling—when they are seven to ten months old
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Recent Examples of locomote
Parents of babies up to age 3 can watch their children locomote on tatami mats or haul themselves up on their jellied legs by holding on to short, fence-like partitions.
—
New York Times, 9 June 2022
The general idea of this research is to get robots to learn to locomote in much the way human toddlers do.
—Matt Simon, Wired, 5 Jan. 2021
The simulated and real robots can use shape change to switch between rolling gaits and inchworm gaits, to locomote in multiple environments.
—IEEE Spectrum, 11 Dec. 2020
All reasonably healthy individuals can locomote at the necessary speed to beat the cutoffs for any ultramarathon.
—Jason Koop, Outside Online, 19 July 2017
The idea of connecting to our ancestral past requires us to locomote as we are evolved to do, using our senses and making sure the mind and body are in union.
—Bill Hatcher, National Geographic, 28 Feb. 2016
New York Times, 9 June 2022
The general idea of this research is to get robots to learn to locomote in much the way human toddlers do.
—Matt Simon, Wired, 5 Jan. 2021
The simulated and real robots can use shape change to switch between rolling gaits and inchworm gaits, to locomote in multiple environments.
—IEEE Spectrum, 11 Dec. 2020
All reasonably healthy individuals can locomote at the necessary speed to beat the cutoffs for any ultramarathon.
—Jason Koop, Outside Online, 19 July 2017
The idea of connecting to our ancestral past requires us to locomote as we are evolved to do, using our senses and making sure the mind and body are in union.
—Bill Hatcher, National Geographic, 28 Feb. 2016
Recent Examples of Synonyms for locomote
Verb
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This mindset started to shift in the 1960s, when scholars recognized ASL as a language.—
Claire Rafford,
IndyStar,
9 Feb. 2026
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However, Musk is known for delivering bold statements and shifting timelines.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
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As a politicized national fight over waste, fraud and abuse led by Republicans have targeted California and its Democratic leadership, Bonta and other state officials have moved swiftly to combat the claims.—
Clara Harter,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Feb. 2026
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Moreover, the bottle had only ever moved between Burgundy and Bordeaux, a driving distance of roughly 300 miles.—
Pin Yen Tan 9 min ago,
CNN Money,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Baby Briana’s arms twitched and legs flopped against cold concrete.—
Jayme Fraser,
USA Today,
4 Feb. 2026
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Through the scope, a polar bear twitched on the ice, 25 yards in front of me.—
Scott Haugen,
Outdoor Life,
4 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Locomote.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/locomote. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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