staggered
Americanadjective
-
arranged in a series of alternating or continually overlapping intervals of time.
Board members serve staggered four-year terms, with new directors replacing outgoing ones each year.
-
arranged so as to alternate on either side of a center.
A circular base approximately 2 meters in diameter is placed atop a couple of staggered layers of brick to allow for aeration from below.
-
scheduled or ordered in gradual stages; phased.
Microsoft has confirmed that the new update will be a staggered release.
-
rendered helpless with astonishment; shocked.
Shakespeare’s King Lear questions everything we know, posing to our staggered imaginations the possibility that the cosmos is immoral, even malevolent.
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of staggered
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Board governors’ terms would remain staggered at 14 years and the chairman’s at four years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
One source claimed that the invitees’ arrival times were staggered such that there were A, B, C, and D lists.
From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026
Those agencies are often structured as multimember commissions with staggered, time-limited terms.
From Slate ● Jul. 6, 2026
“That’s sort of a challenge in the moment. We’re trying to take steps like that staggered notice to try to mitigate that and make sure that folks are available.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 2026
He could see that as George staggered closer.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
