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Showing results for "staggered"
Synonyms

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.


verb

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

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of staggered

stagger ( def. ) + -ed 2 ( def. )

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

SpaceX will release shares through a staggered lockup schedule, with 20% to 30% becoming available after the first quarterly report.

From Barron's • Jun. 17, 2026

Many were already torn over the war, traumatized by Oct. 7th and staggered by an unfamiliar blast of antisemitism in what has long been a haven.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 8, 2026

She remembered being staggered by the size and opulence of the home, while Sullivan was at his desk "wearing the scruffiest tracksuit".

From BBC • Jun. 8, 2026

They use shaded rest breaks, cloth-cooled water bottles and staggered hours to survive.

From Barron's • May 10, 2026

By the time a seasick Phineas Gage staggered ashore here in 1859, San Francisco was still a frontier town on the farthest edge of the continent.

From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman

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