stagger

[ stag-er ]

/ ˈstæg ər /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR stagger ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object)

to walk, move, or stand unsteadily.

to falter or begin to give way, as in an argument or fight.

to waver or begin to doubt, as in purpose or opinion; hesitate: After staggering momentarily, he recognized that he had to make a decision.

verb (used with object)

to cause to reel, totter, or become unsteady: This load would stagger an elephant.

to shock; render helpless with amazement or the like; astonish: The vastness of outer space staggers the mind.

to cause to waver or falter: The news staggered her belief in the triumph of justice.

to arrange in a zigzag order or manner on either side of a center: The captain staggered the troops along the road.

to arrange otherwise than at the same time, especially in a series of alternating or continually overlapping intervals: They planned to stagger lunch hours so that the cafeteria would not be rushed.

Aeronautics. to arrange (the wings of a biplane or the like) so that the entering edge of an upper wing is either in advance of or behind that of a corresponding lower wing.

noun

the act of staggering; a reeling or tottering movement or motion.

a staggered order or arrangement.

Aeronautics.

a staggered arrangement of wings.
the amount of staggering.

staggers. (used with a singular verb) Veterinary Pathology.

Also called blind staggers. acute selenium poisoning of livestock characterized by a staggering gait usually followed by respiratory failure and death.
a condition of unknown cause, occurring in pregnant sheep, cattle, and other animals during or just following extended transport, characterized by a staggering gait and progressive paralysis.

Nearby words

stagflation, stagg, stagg, amos alonzo, staggard, staggart, stagger, stagger head, staggerbush, staggered directorships, staggered hours, staggering

Origin of stagger

1520–30; earlier stacker to reel, Middle English stakeren < Old Norse stakra to reel, equivalent to stak(a) to stagger + -ra frequentative suffix

SYNONYMS FOR stagger

1 Stagger, reel, totter suggest an unsteady manner of walking. To stagger is successively to lose and regain one's equilibrium and the ability to maintain one's direction: to stagger with exhaustion, a heavy load, or intoxication. To reel is to sway dizzily and be in imminent danger of falling: to reel when faint with hunger. To totter is to move in a shaky, uncertain, faltering manner and suggests the immediate likelihood of falling from weakness or feebleness: An old man tottered along with a cane.

3 vacillate.

5 astound, confound, dumfound.

7 alternate.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR stagger ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsstag·ger·er, nounout·stag·ger, verb (used with object)un·stag·gered, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for stagger

A miner puts his head down and runs, with a long swinging stride, through places where I can only stagger.
Thatcher's Economic Legacy|Megan McArdle|April 8, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Unless we stagger the hours of medical service provision, all those people will end up in the emergency room.
The Sleepless Economy|Megan McArdle|January 15, 2013|DAILY BEAST
His cheeks bright red, his chin wet with spittle, the helot would weave and stagger and totter until he passed out in the dirt.
Persian Fire and Rubicon (Full)|David Frum|September 23, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The campaign will now stagger through the February doldrums.
Money Changed Everything for Mitt Romney in Florida Primary|Paul Begala|February 1, 2012|DAILY BEAST

If News Corp. really distrusted a former staffer, it might stagger her severance payments, says Estreicher.
What Brooks Severance Buys Murdoch|Josh Dzieza|November 7, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Before the light referred to went out, Moses was struck violently on the chest by something soft, which caused him to stagger.
Blown to Bits|Robert Michael Ballantyne
Presently we passed the Blakes, I longed to relieve Daniel of his heavy basket; for even he seemed to stagger beneath its weight.
Medoline Selwyn's Work|Mrs. J. J. Colter
Here is truth and eloquence, at one blow, enough to stagger the strongest of us.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 62, Number 385. November, 1847.|Various
The two men found it very heavy, all they could stagger under, even the short distance it had to be carried.
Blazing The Way|Emily Inez Denny
It did stagger them both that Emmy Lou should have to stay to church.
Emmy Lou's Road to Grace|George Madden Martin

British Dictionary definitions for stagger

stagger

/ (ˈstæɡə) /

verb

(usually intr) to walk or cause to walk unsteadily as if about to fall

(tr) to astound or overwhelm, as with shockI am staggered by his ruthlessness

(tr) to place or arrange in alternating or overlapping positions or time periods to prevent confusion or congestiona staggered junction; to stagger holidays

(intr) to falter or hesitatehis courage staggered in the face of the battle

(tr) to set (the wings of a biplane) so that the leading edge of one extends beyond that of the other

noun

the act or an instance of staggering

a staggered arrangement on a biplane, etc

Word Origin for stagger

C13 dialect stacker, from Old Norse staka to push

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for stagger

stagger

1520s, altered from stakeren (c.1300), from Old Norse stakra or Old Danish stagra, both "to push, stagger." Cognate with Dutch staggelen "to stagger," German staggeln "to stammer." Transitive sense of "bewilder, amaze" first recorded 1550s; that of "arrange in a zig-zag pattern" is from 1856. Related: Staggered; staggering.

stagger

verb (used without object)

verb (used with object)

noun

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of stagger

Examples from the Web for stagger

British Dictionary definitions for stagger

stagger

verb

noun

Word Origin for stagger

Word Origin and History for stagger

stagger