gait
noun
\ ˈgāt
\
\
Definition of gait
(Entry 1 of 2)
1
: a manner of walking or moving on foot
2
: a sequence of foot movements (such as a walk, trot, pace, or canter) by which a horse or a dog moves forward
3
: a manner or rate of movement or progress
the leisurely gait of summer
gait
verb
\ ˈgāt
\
\
gaited;
gaiting;
gaits
Definition of gait (Entry 2 of 2)
1
: to train (a horse or a dog) to use a particular gait or set of gaits (see gait entry 1 sense 2)
2
: to lead (a show dog) before a judge to display carriage and movement
: to walk with a particular gait (see gait entry 1 sense 1)
Examples of gait in a Sentence
Noun
They were orthopedic shoes built around molds of my feet, and they had a 2 1/4-inch lift. … they had given me a more or less even gait for the first time in 10 years. — Henry Louis Gates, Jr., New York Times Magazine, 9 Dec. 1990 Interaction with the horse takes place on several levels. Physical communication is foremost. You learn its body language and it learns to respond to a body language you use to ask for changes in gait, direction, and body frame. — Maxine Kumin, In Deep, 1987 How many prose writers can you identify from their style? Not many have that singular emanation from the temperament or those combinations of words all of them characteristic for a certain gait, a certain tone, a certain idiosyncratic consecutiveness of thought and image. — Paul West, New York Times Book Review, 15 Dec. 1985 He walked with an odd gait, a kind of shuffle, pushing his feet along the floor without lifting them. — E. L. Doctorow, Ragtime, (1974) 1975 They walked on with the same light gait, so nearly of a height that keeping step came as naturally to them as breathing. — Edith Wharton, The Reef, 1912 He has an awkward gait.Verb
Patricia Craige, who has guided Norwegian elkhounds to the final at Westminster eight times, gaited Ch. Vin-Melca's Bombardier to breed honors. — Walter R. Fletcher, New York Times, 13 Feb. 1991 As he watched the flashy dogs gaiting in the rings, he knew in his heart that he wanted to show dogs. Seeing the different breeds was thrilling. — Jacqueline Fraser, Dog Fancy, Sept. 1991Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
The campers close out the day’s session by taking turns performing two of the four natural gaits with their horses, trotting and cantering. — Megan Woodward, baltimoresun.com/maryland/carroll, "Talbot Run’s summer camp helps local riders ‘form a connection’ with horses," 1 Aug. 2019 Eventually, Hutchinson, a thin man with a cane, walks into the lobby with a steady gait. — Lynn Ischay, cleveland.com, "WWII vet stands tall at his 102nd birthday party at the Lake County VA Outpatient Clinic," 3 July 2019 On a grander scale, manufacturers displayed large innovations such as life-size robotic devices known as gait trainers for patients who can’t walk, in addition to high-tech wheelchairs and hospital beds. — Cindy Krischer Goodman, sun-sentinel.com, "Cool new health wearables do everything from killing head lice to curing incontinence," 2 July 2019 Shoes with thick linings mimic neuropathy, threatening balance and a steady gait. — Beth Thames | [email protected], al.com, "Feeling old? So is Agnes," 5 June 2019 Jurassic Quest staffers worked with paleontologists to re-create the dinosaurs to ensure the creatures’ body language, gait and appearance were accurate. — Phillip Valys, sun-sentinel.com, "Jurassic Quest: 80 life-size dinosaurs stampeding into West Palm Beach this weekend," 13 Aug. 2019 Lewis was wearing a black helmet, glasses, a white or gray shirt, jeans and a white gait belt. — Dallas News, "41-year-old man with intellectual disability missing in Denton, police say," 30 June 2019 But small groups of migrants, identifiable by both their weary gait and their backpacks, continue passing through the town unmolested by locals. — Dudley Althaus, ExpressNews.com, "Migration slows in Mexico. But will it last?," 23 June 2019 Both cat species have been observed walking with a strange gait and may be suffering from some type of poisoning. — Chad Gillis, USA TODAY, "'Not seen anything like this': Stumbling panthers may have been poisoned. It's stumping Florida officials," 19 June 2019Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
The training club helps handlers get their dogs comfortable with stacking (physically placed in their proper stance) and gaiting (lapping around the show ring to show judges their trot). — Anne Gelhaus, The Mercury News, "Santa Clara dog training club breeds connections between its members," 15 Feb. 2017These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'gait.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for gait
gait
noun
English Language Learners Definition of gait
: a particular way of walking
See the full definition for gait in the English Language Learners Dictionary
gait
noun
\ ˈgāt
\
\
Kids Definition of gait
: a way of walking or running
gait
noun
\ ˈgāt
\
\
Medical Definition of gait
1
: a manner of walking or moving on foot
2
: a sequence of foot movements (as a walk, trot, pace, or canter) by which a horse or a dog moves forward
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