Definition Definition

stagger - Meaning and Examples

Meaning of 'stagger' (Webster Dictionary)

1 . Stagger [ n.]
- To move to one side and the other, as if about to fall, in standing or walking; not to stand or walk with steadiness; to sway; to reel or totter.
- To cease to stand firm; to begin to give way; to fail.
- To begin to doubt and waver in purposes; to become less confident or determined; to hesitate.
- 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.
- A disease of horses and other animals, attended by reeling, unsteady gait or sudden falling; as, parasitic staggers; appopletic or sleepy staggers.
- Bewilderment; perplexity.
2 . Stagger [ v. t.]
- To cause to reel or totter.
- To cause to doubt and waver; to make to hesitate; to make less steady or confident; to shock.
- To arrange (a series of parts) on each side of a median line alternately, as the spokes of a wheel or the rivets of a boiler seam.

Meaning of 'stagger' (Princeton's WordNet)

1 . stagger [ v]
Meaning (1):
- walk with great difficulty
Example in sentence:
  • He staggered along in the heavy snow
Meaning (2):
- astound or overwhelm, as with shock
Example in sentence:
  • She was staggered with bills after she tried to rebuild her house following the earthquake
Meaning (3):
- to arrange in a systematic order
Example in sentence:
  • stagger the chairs in the lecture hall
Meaning (4):
- walk as if unable to control one's movements
Example in sentence:
  • The drunken man staggered into the room

Nearby Words:

stab stabat mater stabbed stabber stabbing stabbingly stabiliment stabilitate stability stable

See 'stagger' also in:

Dictionary.com Google Translator Wikipedia.com Merriam Webster

Categories

Browse Dictionary