- present participle of stagger.
staggering
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of staggering
Explanation
A staggering amount is an astonishing, astounding, stupefying amount. Anything staggering blows your mind. If you know that stagger means to stumble around uncertainly, then you're close to the meaning of staggering: this is a word for things that are so hard to believe you might fall down when you hear them. If the President gets shot, that's staggering news. If there's a major earthquake, that's staggering. Alien life contacting the Earth would be extremely staggering. Anything that knocks your socks off or makes your mind reel is staggering.
Vocabulary lists containing staggering
Tuck Everlasting
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Hatchet
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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.
That’s how excited I was to share the news of Ullom’s staggering debut.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
Hilton resided in the elegant pad just before she splashed out a staggering $63.1 million to buy Wahlberg’s former estate.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026
Security footage showed one of the men staggering down the cobblestone sidewalks of São Paulo’s historic center under the weight of the framed prints as people strolled by, seemingly unaware of the heist under way.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
In the first year after his second inauguration in January 2025, Trump is reported to have made a staggering $2.24 billion.
From Slate ● Aug. 17, 2026
I shouted after a quake sent me staggering into the wall.
From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia
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.
