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

Startled young women, hands in the air, staggered out of darkened rooms.

From Los Angeles Times • May 2, 2026

Rather, the tax is deferred until those funds are withdrawn, which allows more staggered drawdowns to help minimize taxes.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 21, 2026

For the next seven hours he staggered and crawled upward, at times needing five or six breaths for every step.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026

Separately, the government announced spring and autumn school holidays and is encouraging staggered paid leave—moves that could lift family-oriented tourism and leisure spending.

From Barron's • Mar. 30, 2026

They staggered over slick glass ledges, around massive boulders, avoiding stalagmites that would’ve impaled them with any slip of the foot.

From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan

Related Words

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