teeter
Americanverb (used without object)
-
teeters,
present (3rd person singular)
-
teetered,
past participle, past
-
teetering
present participle
-
to move unsteadily.
-
to ride a seesaw; teetertotter.
verb (used with object)
-
teeters,
present (3rd person singular)
-
teetered,
past participle, past
-
teetering
present participle
noun
-
a seesaw motion; wobble.
-
a seesaw; teetertotter.
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
teetersimple
-
teeterssimple
-
have teeteredperfect
-
has teeteredperfect
-
am teeteringprogressive
-
are teeteringprogressive
-
is teeteringprogressive
-
have been teeteringperfect progressive
-
has been teeteringperfect progressive
Past
-
teeteredsimple
-
had teeteredperfect
-
was teeteringprogressive
-
were teeteringprogressive
-
had been teeteringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of teeter
1835–45; variant of dial. titter, Middle English titeren < Old Norse titra tremble; cognate with German zittern to tremble, quiver
Explanation
To teeter is to waver or sway a bit from lack of balance. When people first learn to ride a bicycle, they inevitably teeter for a while before becoming more skilled and confident. A beginning gymnast will teeter on the balance beam, and anyone who's not accustomed to high-heeled shoes will teeter as they walk in them. Figuratively, you might even teeter, or hesitate, between two hard choices. A "teeter-totter," or seesaw, is a playground toy for two people, a long board fixed on a center support, designed so that when one kid is down, the other is up.
Vocabulary lists containing teeter
The Egypt Game
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Purple Hibiscus
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Charlotte's Web
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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.
See Examples For:
From here, Robert carefully stacks a Jenga tower of suspense-laden set pieces and surprisingly moving family drama, without so much as letting the structure teeter.
From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026
The characters in her novels long for stability in landscapes where the past is forever intruding on the present—they teeter on the shifting border between perception and fact.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
"It has no particular love for the military regime, but when it looked like it might teeter and fall, it equated that with state collapse, and stepped in."
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2025
If it can’t get payments from tenants quickly enough to cover its debt needs, the company’s business model could teeter.
From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2025
Then, abruptly, familiarly, and, as usual, with no warning, he thought he felt his mind dislodge itself and teeter, like insecure luggage on an overhead rack.
From "Nine Stories" by J. D. Salinger
A tense scene between her and her sister, Ms. Lucio’s Mia, teeters between sororal competition and sympathy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
Broadcom earnings could be strong thanks to artificial intelligence demand, but shareholders should be prepared for a muted stock reaction as market sentiment teeters.
From Barron's ● Mar. 4, 2026
Freed by two tuxedoed roadies, the pop star teeters to her microphone in a black sequinned ball gown and does the worst thing a performer can do - plays a brand new song.
From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2025
An epic treehouse that has stood in Sherman Oaks for 24 years now teeters on the brink of destruction after the city of L.A. declared the whimsical creation a crime.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 28, 2025
She teeters towards me; I wait for a sign.
From "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood
Back then, American Axle was scrambling to cut costs and hunker down as its main customer, GM, teetered toward bankruptcy the following year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 2, 2026
The company famously teetered on the edge of bankruptcy in 1996, surviving only through a $5 million cash injection from the Japanese videogame developer Sega.
From MarketWatch ● May 23, 2026
“Many of the key teachings from OneTaste teetered between helping and harming the student,” she writes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 18, 2025
The big financial institutions were intertwined by a web of complex financial instruments and vehicles that threatened to bring down the U.S. system as certain players teetered toward collapse.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2025
Mack went out and he teetered down the chicken walk and across the track.
From "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck
It sort of gave me a direction early on because I was a little bit teetering in those days.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
Massive flooding left a government building in western Nepal teetering on the edge of an unstable ledge before it fell into the Daram River.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
Now that a majority of Americans own stocks, policymakers may find it hard to sit on the sidelines and not step in if the equity market is teetering, Balchunas said.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 11, 2026
Messi and Co. were teetering on the edge not only of defeat, but of suffering the most ignominious upset in the 96-year history of the tournament.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 4, 2026
And there was Anna outside, teetering on a stool, her white hair in wisps around the edge of her cap.
From "Nory Ryan’s Song" by Patricia Reilly Giff
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
