falter

American  

[fawl-ter] / ˈfɔl tər /

verb (used without object)

• falters,
  present (3rd person singular)
• faltered,
  past participle,  past
• faltering
  present participle

1. to hesitate or waver in action, purpose, intent, etc.; give way.

   Her courage did not falter at the prospect of hardship.

2. to speak hesitatingly or brokenly.

3. to move unsteadily; stumble.

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verb (used with object)

• falters,
  present (3rd person singular)
• faltered,
  past participle,  past
• faltering
  present participle

1. to utter hesitatingly or brokenly.

   to falter an apology.

noun

1. the act of faltering; an unsteadiness of gait, voice, action, etc.

2. a faltering sound.

falter British  

/ ˈfɔːltə /

verb

1. (intr) to be hesitant, weak, or unsure; waver

2. (intr) to move unsteadily or hesitantly; stumble

3. to utter haltingly or hesitantly; stammer

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noun

1. uncertainty or hesitancy in speech or action

2. a quavering or irregular sound

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• falterer
  noun
• nonfaltering
  adjective
• unfaltering
  adjective
• falteringly
  adverb
• nonfalteringly
  adverb
• unfalteringly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• faltering
  present
• faltered
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• falter
  simple
• falters
  simple
• have faltered
  perfect
• has faltered
  perfect
• am faltering
  progressive
• are faltering
  progressive
• is faltering
  progressive
• have been faltering
  perfect progressive
• has been faltering
  perfect progressive

Past

• faltered
  simple
• had faltered
  perfect
• was faltering
  progressive
• were faltering
  progressive
• had been faltering
  perfect progressive

Future

• will falter
  simple
• will have faltered
  perfect
• will be faltering
  progressive
• will have been faltering
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of falter

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English falteren, of obscure origin; perhaps akin to Old Norse faltrast “to bother with, be troubled with”

Explanation

Falter means to hesitate, stumble, or waver, and everything from faith to voices can do it. So if you want to keep your bride or groom happy, it's best not to falter when it's your turn to say "I do." Experts may falter if you ask them where falter came from, because the origins are pretty unclear. But everyone agrees on the current meaning: someone who falters is unsteady, wobbly, or unsure. You might falter while reciting a poem if you forget some of the lines, or falter crossing a rickety rope bridge when fear gets the most of you. But you certainly won't falter when someone asks you the meaning of this word.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

falter falters faltered faltering

As the 23-year-old speaks to BBC Global Women about her family, her voice begins to falter.

From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026

Should Anthropic, OpenAI and other big buyers of AI computing power falter, massive contracts would likely be reworked and backlogs would shrink.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026

But it can falter when human inputs are too limited or vague.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026

I’ll never falter in my beliefs in that.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026

Taking heart at the slight falter, Thomas started screaming as he charged.

From "The Maze Runner" by James Dashner

Even in the moments it falters, “Backrooms” is like someone coming across the cage we’ve been pacing around in, and pointing out that the bars were always big enough to slip through.

From Salon ● May 30, 2026

“Brigadoon” manages to transcend time, but this take on “Flower Drum Song” falters between eras.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2026

A $500 million government bailout falters as the discount carrier runs low on cash and bondholders balk.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 2026

When confidence falters, that mismatch can turn manageable losses into systemic crises.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 13, 2026

Then she sees me and falters, eyes widening.

From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir

Even so, their performance has often faltered, and some are having second thoughts about holding these assets.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

It boasts strong exports and cutting-edge technology, while domestic spending has faltered and property prices remain in the doldrums.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026

The only time it faltered was when he was broken at the start of the third set - a blip he immediately corrected - and when he served for the match at 5-3 up.

From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2026

Nike’s digital business has faltered, and it has tried to refashion that segment into a destination for higher-priced fare, rather than discounting.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 2026

Her smile faltered, but returned with far more teeth than before.

From "The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken

Dodgers right-hander Edgardo Henriquez was on the mound as their third pitcher in a bullpen game, and his command was faltering, to the tune of back-to-back walks and a wild pitch.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026

As a politician, Donaldson had a reputation as someone who could rise to the big occasions, rarely faltering under pressure.

From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026

France and Germany announced Monday a deal for the joint governance of arms maker KNDS, paving the way for a blockbuster share offering as they seek to reinvigorate faltering European defence cooperation.

From Barron's ● Jun. 22, 2026

The economy was already faltering, with a contraction of 0.2% in the first quarter compared with growth of 0.2% in the prior quarter.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026

He filled out the birth certificate without faltering, betraying no emotion at all as he handed the completed form to the floor nurse.

From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller

Related Words

• flounder
• hesitate
• reel
• waver
• wobble