staggered
Americanadjective
-
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.
-
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.
-
scheduled or ordered in gradual stages; phased.
Microsoft has confirmed that the new update will be a staggered release.
-
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
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of staggered
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.
The staggered release schedule is likely a result of supply-chain constraints, according to David Naranjo, associate director at Counterpoint Research.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 7, 2026
The staggered statements within “Trio Piece” advance with oddly pleasing grace.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
One source claimed that the invitees’ arrival times were staggered such that there were A, B, C, and D lists.
From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026
Those agencies are often structured as multimember commissions with staggered, time-limited terms.
From Slate ● Jul. 6, 2026
Anya dragged Ivan after her to where Håkon staggered away on the road.
From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
