Meaning & use
ambulating
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“ambulating” is a form of “ambulate”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbintransitivemedicalformal
Moving about on foot, especially a patient who is able to walk after illness, surgery, or injury.
Grammar: No object: the patient is ambulating, not ambulating the patient.
Patterns
- ambulating with something
- ambulating independently
Two days after surgery, the patient was ambulating with a walker.
The nurse noted that Mr. Lee was ambulating independently down the hall.
She is already ambulating without pain, which is a good sign.
verbintransitivehumorousformal
Walking around from place to place, in a deliberately formal or humorous way.
Grammar: No object, and often followed by a place: ambulating around the garden.
Patterns
- ambulating around somewhere
The guests were ambulating slowly around the sculpture garden.
After lunch we went ambulating along the harbor to settle our stomachs.
He spent the afternoon ambulating between the market stalls.
Word forms
| base form | ambulate |
|---|---|
| third person singular | ambulates |
| past tense | ambulated |
| -ing form | ambulating |
Common combinations
- ambulating independently
- After a week of therapy he was ambulating independently.
- ambulating with a walker
- She is ambulating with a walker and a physiotherapist's help.
- ambulating around the ward
- Patients ambulating around the ward are encouraged to wear slippers.
- begin ambulating
- Doctors want patients to begin ambulating soon after the operation.
- ambulating well
- The chart said he was ambulating well and ready for discharge.
Synonyms and how they differ
- walking
- Walking is the everyday word and carries no clinical flavor, so it sounds natural in speech where ambulating would sound stiff.
- strolling
- Strolling suggests a slow, relaxed walk for pleasure, while ambulating simply states the ability or act of moving on foot.
- mobile
- Mobile is an adjective describing someone able to move, whereas ambulating describes the action happening now.
- pacing
- Pacing means walking back and forth, usually from worry, which is far more specific than ambulating.
Opposites
Word family
- ambulate verb
- to walk about
- ambulation noun
- the act of walking, especially as a medical measure of recovery
- ambulatory adjective
- able to walk, or for patients who can walk in
- ambulance noun
- a vehicle that carries the sick or injured
- perambulate verb
- to walk through or around a place, often at leisure
Commonly confused: ambulating or ambling? ambulating or ambulatory?
ambulating vs ambling
Ambling means walking at a slow, relaxed pace; ambulating does not say anything about speed.
ambulating vs ambulatory
Ambulatory is an adjective meaning able to walk or not requiring a hospital stay; ambulating is the action.
Practice
The nurse's note read: 'Patient is ___ with a cane and no longer needs a wheelchair.' Which word fits best in a clinical note?
Choose one answer.
Ambulating is the standard clinical word for a patient who is walking. Wandering suggests aimless movement, hobbling over is informal and has a wrong structure, and sprinting does not fit a cane.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “ambulating”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.