How to use sidle in a sentence

13 example sentences · verb, noun

Sidle means to (cause something to) move sideways. Example: “You could drive a band of hosses up the steepest kind of hill but nobody that I ever knowed could drive a bunch straight down (that goes with cows, too)—they'd sidle it every time.”

Examples of sidle by meaning

verbTo (cause something to) move sideways.

You could drive a band of hosses up the steepest kind of hill but nobody that I ever knowed could drive a bunch straight down (that goes with cows, too)—they'd sidle it every time.2011, Charles M[arion] Russell, “Range Horses”, in Stephen [Vincent] Brennan, editor, The Best Cowboy Stories Ever Told, New York, N.Y....

verbIn the intransitive sense often followed by up: to (cause something to) advance in a coy, furtive, or unobtrusive...

One day he sidles up to a group, listens to the conversation for a moment, and actually puts in a remark.1914 April, Eric H. May, “The Metamorphosis of a ‘Fusser’”, in Paul Sykes, editor, Vox Lycei: Official Organ of the Ottawa Collegiate...
She had reared him as a gosling; and whenever he approached, he would let fly a low contented burble and sidle his neck around her thighs.1988, Bruce Chatwin, Utz, London: Jonathan Cape, →ISBN; republished London: Vintage Books, 2005, →ISBN, page 50
Ava tried to sidle away, but she was semi-trapped between the corner of the stage and a French Club sign-up table.2014, Belle Payton, Too Cool for School (It Takes Two), New York, N.Y.: Simon Spotlight, Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division...

More sentences with sidle

I sidled closer and heard the pointer accuse the other man of cheating.2020, J.M. Griffin, Who’s Dead, Doc?, Kensington Books, →ISBN. From the entry pointer
I sidled up to a particularly Ocker character on the edge of a group and nervously explained my mission.1984, Sandra Jobson, Blokes, page 11. From the entry ocker
The tavern was absolutely slammed, but we finally found a crease at the bar where we could sidle up to and order a pint.2016 September 8, George S. Fleetwood, Put Another Pin in the Map: The Interesting Places I’ve Seen and the Food I’ve Eaten, AuthorHouse…. From the entry slammed
She hated the smothersome dresses her mother chose; she had no clue what to say to the beaux who sidled up to her.2016, Sonya Hartnett, The Ghost's Child, page 45. From the entry smothersome
First he sidled up behind Scarlett Johansson as she posed on the red carpet, kissed her, and slid his hand around her waist.2015 February 23, “Oscars 2015: 10 things we learned”, in The Guardian (London). From the entry red carpet
The packet-boat came in sight, white and slow as a deliberate swan, drew reflectively down the shining reach of water, and sidled to the landing.1994, Mary Johnston, Marjorie Spruill Wheeler, Hagar, page 8. From the entry packet-boat
The opium-eating sod sidled off gurgling.1956, Anthony Burgess, Time for a Tiger (The Malayan Trilogy), published 1972, page 72. From the entry opium-eating
Just as Nord was crooking his elbow on the second drink, a small, rat-faced man sidled up to him at the bar.1950, Wonders of the Spaceways, numbers 1-6, page 30. From the entry crook one's elbow
Half the pages of the frazzled directory hanging on a chain in the musty old booth into which I furtively sidled had turned their corners back on themselves.1983, Peter De Vries, chapter 3, in Slouching Towards Kalamazoo, Boston: Little, Brown & Co., page 34. From the entry frowzy

Meaning of sidle

verb To (cause something to) move sideways.
verb In the intransitive sense often followed by up: to (cause something to) advance in a coy, furtive, or unobtrusive manner.
noun A sideways movement.

Full definition of sidle

Questions about sidle in a sentence

How do you use sidle in a sentence?: Sidle is used as a verb and noun. For example: “You could drive a band of hosses up the steepest kind of hill but nobody that I ever knowed could drive a bunch straight down (that goes with cows, too)—they'd sidle it every time.”
What is a short sentence with sidle?: “The opium-eating sod sidled off gurgling.”
What does sidle mean?: Sidle means to (cause something to) move sideways.

Adapted from Wiktionary: sidle (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this page: “How to use sidle in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/sidle. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.