stagger

stagger
—staggerer, n.
/stag"euhr/, v.i.
1. to walk, move, or stand unsteadily.
2. to falter or begin to give way, as in an argument or fight.
3. to waver or begin to doubt, as in purpose or opinion; hesitate: After staggering momentarily, he recognized that he had to make a decision.
v.t.
4. to cause to reel, totter, or become unsteady: This load would stagger an elephant.
5. to shock; render helpless with amazement or the like; astonish: The vastness of outer space staggers the mind.
6. to cause to waver or falter: The news staggered her belief in the triumph of justice.
7. to arrange in a zigzag order or manner on either side of a center: The captain staggered the troops along the road.
8. to arrange otherwise than at the same time, esp. in a series of alternating or continually overlapping intervals: They planned to stagger lunch hours so that the cafeteria would not be rushed.
9. Aeron. to arrange (the wings of a biplane or the like) so that the entering edge of an upper wing is either in advance of or behind that of a corresponding lower wing.
n.
10. the act of staggering; a reeling or tottering movement or motion.
11. a staggered order or arrangement.
12. Aeron.
a. a staggered arrangement of wings.
b. the amount of staggering.
13. staggers. (used with a sing. v.) Vet. Pathol.
a. Also called blind staggers. acute selenium poisoning of livestock characterized by a staggering gait usually followed by respiratory failure and death.
b. a condition of unknown cause, occurring in pregnant sheep, cattle, and other animals during or just following extended transport, characterized by a staggering gait and progressive paralysis.
[1520-30; earlier stacker to reel, ME stakeren < ON stakra to reel, equiv. to stak(a) to stagger + -ra freq. suffix]
Syn. 1. STAGGER, REEL, TOTTER suggest an unsteady manner of walking. To STAGGER is successively to lose and regain one's equilibrium and the ability to maintain one's direction: to stagger with exhaustion, a heavy load, or intoxication. To REEL is to sway dizzily and be in imminent danger of falling: to reel when faint with hunger. To TOTTER is to move in a shaky, uncertain, faltering manner and suggests the immediate likelihood of falling from weakness or feebleness: An old man tottered along with a cane. 3. vacillate. 5. astound, confound, dumfound. 7. alternate.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Stagger — 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… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • stagger — [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,… …   English World dictionary

  • stagger — (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… …   Etymology dictionary

  • Stagger — 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… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Stagger — 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;… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • stagger — [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]… …   New thesaurus

  • stagger — index overcome (overwhelm), vacillate Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • stagger — vb *reel, whirl, totter Analogous words: sway, waver, fluctuate (see SWING): *stumble, lurch, blunder, flounder …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • stagger — ► 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 …   English terms dictionary

  • stagger — 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 * …   Combinatory dictionary

  • stagger — The schedule of months in which quarterly returns for VAT and Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) are due. Traders registered for VAT and IPT are generally required to submit returns every quarter. For administrative purposes, the dates on which returns… …   Financial and business terms

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