were tottering
-
past progressiveof totter.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
totterverb (used without object)to walk or go with faltering, unsteady steps.
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.
Old empires were tottering, and world powers were vying for position.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 1, 2022
When skipper Daniel Vettori was out in the 42nd over, the Kiwis were tottering on 158-5, but the in-form Guptill fired 11 fours in his 80 from 154 balls.
From BBC ● Feb. 15, 2010
Under the onset of the Nazi conquests the walls of the whole known world were tottering.
From Time Magazine Archive
![]()
After the Wilde-Douglas episode, Beardsley gradually made a comeback, but his career and life were tottering toward an end.
From Time Magazine Archive
![]()
She hastened to the boat; she did not feel that her heart was beating; that her feet were tottering; that her senses were threatening to fail her.
From The German Classics of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, Volume 02 Masterpieces of German Literature Translated into English. in Twenty Volumes by Kuno Francke