straggle
Americanverb (used without object)
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to spread or be spread in a scattered fashion or at irregular intervals.
The trees straggle over the countryside.
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to lag behind others.
Some organizations have caught on to this concept, but others are straggling behind.
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to stray from the road, course, or line of march.
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to wander about in a scattered fashion; ramble.
verb
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to go, come, or spread in a rambling or irregular way; stray
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to linger behind or wander from a main line or part
Other Word Forms
- straggler noun
- straggling adjective
- stragglingly adverb
- straggly adjective
Etymology
Origin of straggle
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English straglen, of uncertain origin, perhaps a variant of strackle (unrecorded), frequentative of obsolete strake “to go, move” ( -le ( def. ) ); stagger ( 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.
Some flocks choose to fly early in the season, others straggle far behind.
From Literature
The youngest, the straggling teenaged Låke, was born off the grid and has no identity, legally speaking.
From Los Angeles Times
This time around he follows straggling young people in Peru, Taiwan, and Sri Lanka, first separately until the geographical distance between them collapses and their timelines overlap.
From Los Angeles Times
A few locals straggled nearby, pretending to shop while eavesdropping.
From Literature
Campaigns have normally pushed for it, allowing them to lock in votes early and focus their efforts on Election Day to encourage straggling supporters to get to the polls.
From Seattle Times
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.
