straggle

[ strag-uhl ]

/ ˈstræg əl /

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See synonyms for: straggle / straggling / straggler on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object), strag·gled, strag·gling.

to stray from the road, course, or line of march.

to wander about in a scattered fashion; ramble.

to spread or be spread in a scattered fashion or at irregular intervals: The trees straggle over the countryside.

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Origin of straggle

1350–1400; Middle English straglen< ?

OTHER WORDS FROM straggle

straggler, nounstrag·gling·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use straggle in a sentence

I was totally unprepared and only got one arm around, the other was left straggling and I accidentally cupped his balls.
Penis Beakers and Constipated Dolls: What Mothers REALLY Want To Know|Tom Sykes|October 11, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The girl was alone, lying with her head upon the table, and her hair straggling over it.
Oliver Twist, Vol. II (of 3)|Charles Dickens
They are straggling, and have wide and apparently deep channels between them.
Narrative of a Survey of the Intertropical and Western Coasts of Australia] [Volume 2 of 2]|Phillip Parker King
By and by, a straggling birch bluff rose blackly across their way, but nobody swung wide.
Winston of the Prairie|Harold Bindloss

The edge of the reef off the latter island is not well defined, for we passed several straggling rocks.
Narrative of a Survey of the Intertropical and Western Coasts of Australia] [Volume 2 of 2]|Phillip Parker King
Around us rose the broken, straggling walls, bare and bleak, without a shred of ivy or wall-flower to hide their grim nakedness.
British Highways And Byways From A Motor Car|Thomas D. Murphy

British Dictionary definitions for straggle

straggle

/ (ˈstræɡəl) /

verb (intr)

to go, come, or spread in a rambling or irregular way; stray

to linger behind or wander from a main line or part

Derived forms of straggle

straggler, nounstraggling, adjectivestragglingly, adverbstraggly, adjective

Word Origin for straggle

C14: of uncertain origin; perhaps related to strake and stretch

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

straggle

Origin of straggle

OTHER WORDS FROM straggle

Words related to straggle

How to use straggle in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for straggle

Derived forms of straggle

Word Origin for straggle