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.
The staggering price of World Cup tickets this year could also be keeping away fans, said journalist and author Simon Kuper, who writes about soccer economics.
From Los Angeles Times • May 23, 2026
In Afghanistan today, a staggering three in four people cannot meet their basic needs, according to the UN.
From BBC • May 18, 2026
That implies growth rates of 71% and 77%, respectively, from the already staggering heights the group has reached over the past three years.
From Barron's • May 18, 2026
Before he left for OpenAI, Sutskever turned down a $6 million-a-year offer to stay at Google, which he considered “a staggering amount of money.”
From The Wall Street Journal • May 18, 2026
But wait—he was staggering away from Owen and Momma Bear as quickly as he could.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
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.
