as in trotting
to go at a pace faster than a walk
the child scampered off to play
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Recent Examples of scampering
High jinks ensue, including a hilarious scene in the Big Game with a scampering dog and a chariot chase.
—
Brian Truitt, USA Today, 6 Feb. 2026
Since his debut on the national scene as a tot scampering through in the White House — a symbol of the Kennedy administration’s youthful energy — he’d been relentlessly documented.
—Daniel D'addario, Variety, 3 Feb. 2026
Arguably the state’s top dual-threat, the senior QB was a catalyst for the Knights all season long, registering 1,761 passing yards and 25 touchdowns while scampering for 974 yards on the ground to go with 14 more touchdowns.
—Brendan Connelly, Boston Herald, 1 Feb. 2026
Maye knocked out the Broncos by scampering all alone to his left on a third-down naked bootleg, Josh McDaniels’ best play-call on a day of bad weather and good defense.
—Andrew Callahan, Hartford Courant, 26 Jan. 2026
In the second half, there was a carbon copy of the same move, when Leno again aimed straight down the middle of the pitch to Wilson, with substitute Jorrel Hato scampering back to avoid further embarrassment.
—Tom Burrows, New York Times, 8 Jan. 2026
In comparison, trackways offer a direct snapshot of an ancient moment in time — in this case, when scores of scampering theropods crisscrossed a shoreline.
—Mindy Weisberger, CNN Money, 5 Dec. 2025
Three plays later, Balko called his own number yet again, scampering into the end zone from 24 yards out and putting Eastlake ahead 21-17.
—Clark Fahrenthold, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Nov. 2025
The man who appeared to attack Lang was seen scampering back across Michigan Avenue after hitting him.
—Niraj Warikoo, Freep.com, 19 Nov. 2025
Brian Truitt, USA Today, 6 Feb. 2026
Since his debut on the national scene as a tot scampering through in the White House — a symbol of the Kennedy administration’s youthful energy — he’d been relentlessly documented.
—Daniel D'addario, Variety, 3 Feb. 2026
Arguably the state’s top dual-threat, the senior QB was a catalyst for the Knights all season long, registering 1,761 passing yards and 25 touchdowns while scampering for 974 yards on the ground to go with 14 more touchdowns.
—Brendan Connelly, Boston Herald, 1 Feb. 2026
Maye knocked out the Broncos by scampering all alone to his left on a third-down naked bootleg, Josh McDaniels’ best play-call on a day of bad weather and good defense.
—Andrew Callahan, Hartford Courant, 26 Jan. 2026
In the second half, there was a carbon copy of the same move, when Leno again aimed straight down the middle of the pitch to Wilson, with substitute Jorrel Hato scampering back to avoid further embarrassment.
—Tom Burrows, New York Times, 8 Jan. 2026
In comparison, trackways offer a direct snapshot of an ancient moment in time — in this case, when scores of scampering theropods crisscrossed a shoreline.
—Mindy Weisberger, CNN Money, 5 Dec. 2025
Three plays later, Balko called his own number yet again, scampering into the end zone from 24 yards out and putting Eastlake ahead 21-17.
—Clark Fahrenthold, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Nov. 2025
The man who appeared to attack Lang was seen scampering back across Michigan Avenue after hitting him.
—Niraj Warikoo, Freep.com, 19 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scampering
Verb
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Coyotes were seen trotting across the frozen Charles River yesterday.—
Theresa Gaffney,
STAT,
3 Feb. 2026
-
The area is so nationally notorious that the Border Patrol chose it to stage an invasion here in July, complete with a literal cavalry of agents trotting down a soccer field where kids usually play while National Guard troops sat inside armored Humvees on Wilshire Boulevard.—
Gustavo Arellano,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Jan. 2026
Verb
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With a dust and waterproof rating of IP57, the earbuds can also shrug off moisture and sweat, whether jogging in the rain or enduring a punishing workout.—
Mark Sparrow,
Forbes.com,
30 Jan. 2026
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But commenters were also fascinated by a series of colorful graphs plotting dose-response curves for individual types of exercise, purporting to show that walking is the best, jogging is good but not too much, swimming is no good at all, and so on.—
Alex Hutchinson,
Outside,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
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That left only three crew members to keep the place running — one American and two Russians — prompting NASA to pause spacewalks and trim research.—
Marcia Dunn,
Los Angeles Times,
15 Feb. 2026
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After the nuptials, hundreds of dyads will renew their vows as part of Love in Times Square, a long-running tradition held by the Times Square Alliance, a neighborhood nonprofit.—
Andrea Sachs,
Washington Post,
14 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Meza Gonzalez and David Christian, one of her attorneys, refused to answer questions from reporters about the plea agreement, hurrying down a flight of stairs at the Cadena-Reeves Justice Center.—
Megan Rodriguez,
San Antonio Express-News,
27 Jan. 2026
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But one weekend in November, people who would typically be hurrying by, staring down at their phones, stopped.—
The Editors,
Curbed,
15 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Scampering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scampering. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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