to plod through
1
5.6
- phrasal verb
- /plɑd θru/
:
avanzar con esfuerzo
- As the project deadline approached, I had to plod through countless reports and data analysis to finish on time.
Examples
-
The new hire will plod through the required courses, giving everyone high grades, telling jokes and stories unrelated to the subject, and confirming the opinion of future engineers and physical therapists that the humanities are boring and worthless.
Academic text (2001) -
She passed whole trees bent into permanent arcs by the winter's storms, rotting logs lay everywhere, and she plodded through a stretch of muskeg that almost sucked off her boots.
Fiction book (1995) -
I have plodded through something like 400 comments.
Blog text (18) -
Or they may plod through early stages and dash through the later ones.
Academic text (1992) -
And they don't have time to wait around for everybody else to catch up, let alone the teacher to, you know, slowly plod through things.
-
People scatter, slow to a walk, drift into small groups, plod through the rain.
Fiction book (1996) -
Just watching my 17-year-old daughter plodding through her college work, it occurred to me that you and Az would be very useful.
Blog text (34) -
The morning's business was a matter of plodding through the list, case by case, with all the usual reductive formality.
Fiction book (2001) -
We may spend weeks designing the perfect novel units, carefully selecting interesting texts, and crafting meaningful activities, only to discover that our students are not interested and plod through the book and our assignments.
Academic text (2012) -
He sets the commission check on the kitchen table and plods through the house, shedding his briefcase, shoes, tie, and the rest of his clothing along the way into the bedroom, where he collapses backward on the bed and stares at the ceiling.
Fiction book (1995)
Synonyms
39
3.6
To keep going despite problems until you finish
8
4.2
Continue and finish a task with strong effort when it is hard or you are tired
5
6.7
To work hard for a long time on a task that is difficult or tiring
3
4.7
Continue doing something even when there are problems
1
5.0
Keep doing something despite difficulty or others telling you to stop
1
7.4
To move forward with difficulty through people or things with effort
Antonyms
How Effortful
Surface Forms
Morphology
The verb 'plod' (to move slowly with heavy steps) combined with the particle 'through' (indicating movement across or completion) yields a directly compositional meaning of proceeding slowly and steadily across or through a task. This motion-to-activity extension is predictable and follows common English verb + particle patterns, so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Plod through may come from the image of someone taking slow, heavy steps, plod, while moving through mud or thick grass. So it now means 'to work or move slowly and steadily through a task'.