stagger
1Stagger — Stag ger ( g[ e]r), v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Staggered} ( g[ e]rd); p. pr. & vb. n. {Staggering}.] [OE. stakeren, Icel. stakra to push, to stagger, fr. staka to punt, push, stagger; cf. OD. staggeren to stagger. Cf. {Stake}, n.] 1. To move to one… …
2stagger — [stag′ər] vi. [ME stakeren < ON stakra, to totter, intens. of staka, to push (for IE base see STAKE): akin to & prob. infl. in form by MDu staggeren] 1. to move unsteadily, as though about to collapse; totter, sway, or reel, as from a blow,… …
3stagger — (v.) 1520s, altered from stakeren (c.1300), from O.N. stakra or O.Dan. stagra, both to push, stagger. Cognate with Du. staggelen to stagger, Ger. staggeln to stammer. Transitive sense of bewilder, amaze first recorded 1550s; that of arrange in a… …
4Stagger — Stag ger, n. 1. An unsteady movement of the body in walking or standing, as if one were about to fall; a reeling motion; vertigo; often in the plural; as, the stagger of a drunken man. [1913 Webster] 2. pl. (Far.) A disease of horses and other… …
5Stagger — Stag ger, v. t. 1. To cause to reel or totter. [1913 Webster] That hand shall burn in never quenching fire That staggers thus my person. Shak. [1913 Webster] 2. To cause to doubt and waver; to make to hesitate; to make less steady or confident;… …
6stagger — [v1] walk falteringly alternate, careen, dither, falter, halt, hesitate, lurch, overlap, pitch, reel, shake, stammer, step, sway, swing, teeter, titubate, topple, totter, vacillate, waver, wheel, whiffle, wobble, zigzag; concept 151 stagger [v2]… …
7stagger — index overcome (overwhelm), vacillate Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …
8stagger — vb *reel, whirl, totter Analogous words: sway, waver, fluctuate (see SWING): *stumble, lurch, blunder, flounder …
9stagger — ► VERB 1) walk or move unsteadily, as if about to fall. 2) astonish. 3) spread over a period of time. 4) arrange (objects or parts) so that they are not in line. ► NOUN ▪ an act of staggering or a staggered arrangement. ORIGIN Old Norse …
10stagger — v. 1) (D; intr.) to stagger from; into (to stagger into a room) 2) (D; intr.) to stagger out of (to stagger out of a building) 3) (R) it staggered me to learn of his defection 4) (misc.) to stagger to one s feet; to stagger under a heavy burden * …
