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definitions

tottering

[tot-er-ing]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR tottering ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

walking unsteadily or shakily.
lacking security or stability; threatening to collapse; precarious: a tottering empire.

RELATED WORDS

unsettled, vacillating, dizzy, moving, wavering, suspect, fluctuating, weaving, teetering, loose, exposed, rootless, ambiguous, borderline, capricious, changeable, dubious, erratic, fickle, fitful

Nearby words

  1. totowa,
  2. totsiens,
  3. totten trust,
  4. tottenham,
  5. totter,
  6. totteringly,
  7. tottery,
  8. tottie,
  9. totting,
  10. totty

Origin of tottering

totter + -ing2
Related formstot·ter·ing·ly, adverbun·tot·ter·ing, adjective

totter

[tot-er]

verb (used without object)

to walk or go with faltering steps, as if from extreme weakness.
to sway or rock on the base or ground, as if about to fall: The tower seemed to totter in the wind. The government was tottering.
to shake or tremble: a load that tottered.

noun

the act of tottering; an unsteady movement or gait.

Origin of totter

1150–1200; Middle English toteren to swing < ?
Related formstot·ter·er, noun

Synonyms for totter

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR totter ON THESAURUS.COM
1. See stagger. 2. waver. 3. oscillate, quiver.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for tottering

British Dictionary definitions for tottering

totter

verb (intr)

to walk or move in an unsteady manner, as from old age
to sway or shake as if about to fall
to be failing, unstable, or precarious

noun

the act or an instance of tottering
Derived Formstotterer, nountottering, adjectivetotteringly, adverbtottery, adjective

Word Origin for totter

C12: perhaps from Old English tealtrian to waver, and Middle Dutch touteren to stagger
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
Word Origin and History for tottering

totter

v.

c.1200, "swing to and fro," perhaps from a Scandinavian source (cf. dialectal Norwegian totra "to quiver, shake"). Meaning "stand or walk with shaky, unsteady steps" is from c.1600. Related: Tottered; tottering.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper