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

Plenty of fans will be staggered that no one at the top has paid with their job.

From BBC

We were catching up with Karli fast, when, and not for the first time, he staggered, and fell to his knees, exhausted.

From Literature

He staggered sideways on his spindly legs, tripped over his own foot, and fell full-length into the crick.

From Literature

Heedless of Wolf’s warning growls, the female pulled Tall Tailless to his legs and they staggered up the bank.

From Literature

She staggered when she got off her sled.

From Literature

Related Words

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