staggered

American  

[stag-erd] / ˈstæg ərd /

adjective

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. scheduled or ordered in gradual stages; phased.

   Microsoft has confirmed that the new update will be a staggered release.

4. 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.

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of stagger.

Other Word Forms

• unstaggered adjective

Etymology

Origin of staggered

stagger ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

Now pickups are staggered, with students escorted outside one bus at a time.

From Los Angeles Times

Christopher staggered sideways, his vision blurred, a roaring in his ears.

From Literature

Advisors can apply staggered growth rates to their financial projections.

From Barron's

He could see that as George staggered closer.

From Literature

Fed governors serve staggered 14-year terms in order to insulate them from political influence.

From MarketWatch

Related Words

• astonished
• awed
• baffled
• befuddled
• dazed
• mystified
• perplexed
• puzzled
• rattled
• shocked
• startled
• stunned
• surprised