stagger

Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

stag·ger

(stăg′ər)

v. stag·gered, stag·ger·ing, stag·gers

v.intr.

To move or stand unsteadily, as if under a great weight; totter. See Synonyms at blunder.

v.tr.

1. To cause to totter, sway, or reel: The blow staggered him.

2. To astonish, shock, or overwhelm: a teacher staggered by a former student's accomplishments; a company staggered by increases in energy costs.

3. To place on or as if on alternating sides of a center line; set in a zigzag row or rows: theater seats that were staggered for clear viewing.

4. To arrange in alternating or overlapping time periods: staggered the nurses' shifts.

5. To arrange (the wings of a biplane) so that the leading edge of one wing is either ahead of or behind the leading edge of the other wing.

6. Sports To arrange (the start of a race) with the starting point in the outside lanes progressively closer to the finish line so as to neutralize the advantage of competing in the shorter inside lanes.

1. A tottering, swaying, or reeling motion.

2. A staggered pattern, arrangement, or order.

3. staggers(used with a sing. verb) Any of various diseases in animals, especially horses, cattle, or other domestic animals, that are characterized by a lack of coordination in moving, a staggering gait, and frequent falling.

[Alteration of Middle English stakeren, from Old Norse stakra, frequentative of staka, to push.]

stag′ger·er n.

stag′ger·y adj.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

stagger

(ˈstæɡə)

1. (usually intr) to walk or cause to walk unsteadily as if about to fall

2. (tr) to astound or overwhelm, as with shock: I am staggered by his ruthlessness.

3. (tr) to place or arrange in alternating or overlapping positions or time periods to prevent confusion or congestion: a staggered junction; to stagger holidays.

4. (intr) to falter or hesitate: his courage staggered in the face of the battle.

5. (Aeronautics) (tr) to set (the wings of a biplane) so that the leading edge of one extends beyond that of the other

6. the act or an instance of staggering

7. (Aeronautics) a staggered arrangement on a biplane, etc

[C13 dialect stacker, from Old Norse staka to push]

ˈstaggerer n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

stag•ger

(ˈstæg ər)

v.i.

1. to walk, move, or stand unsteadily.

2. to falter or begin to give way, as in an argument.

3. to waver or hesitate, as in purpose or resolve.

v.t.

4. to cause to reel, totter, or become unsteady.

5. to astonish or shock: a fact that staggers the mind.

6. to cause to waver or falter.

7. to arrange in an alternating pattern: to stagger lunch hours.

8. the act of staggering; a reeling or tottering movement.

9. a staggered order or arrangement.

10. staggers, (used with a sing. v.) any of several severe diseases of livestock characterized by a staggering gait.

[1520–30; earlier stacker to reel, Middle English stakeren < Old Norse stakra to reel =stak(a) to stagger + -ra frequentative suffix]

stag′ger•er, n.

stagger

Past participle: staggered
Gerund: staggering

Imperative
stagger
stagger

Present
I stagger
you stagger
he/she/it staggers
we stagger
you stagger
they stagger

Preterite
I staggered
you staggered
he/she/it staggered
we staggered
you staggered
they staggered

Present Continuous
I am staggering
you are staggering
he/she/it is staggering
we are staggering
you are staggering
they are staggering

Present Perfect
I have staggered
you have staggered
he/she/it has staggered
we have staggered
you have staggered
they have staggered

Past Continuous
I was staggering
you were staggering
he/she/it was staggering
we were staggering
you were staggering
they were staggering

Past Perfect
I had staggered
you had staggered
he/she/it had staggered
we had staggered
you had staggered
they had staggered

Future
I will stagger
you will stagger
he/she/it will stagger
we will stagger
you will stagger
they will stagger

Future Perfect
I will have staggered
you will have staggered
he/she/it will have staggered
we will have staggered
you will have staggered
they will have staggered

Future Continuous
I will be staggering
you will be staggering
he/she/it will be staggering
we will be staggering
you will be staggering
they will be staggering

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been staggering
you have been staggering
he/she/it has been staggering
we have been staggering
you have been staggering
they have been staggering

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been staggering
you will have been staggering
he/she/it will have been staggering
we will have been staggering
you will have been staggering
they will have been staggering

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been staggering
you had been staggering
he/she/it had been staggering
we had been staggering
you had been staggering
they had been staggering

Conditional
I would stagger
you would stagger
he/she/it would stagger
we would stagger
you would stagger
they would stagger

Past Conditional
I would have staggered
you would have staggered
he/she/it would have staggered
we would have staggered
you would have staggered
they would have staggered

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Noun	1.	stagger - an unsteady uneven gait lurch, stumble gait - a person's manner of walking
Verb	1.	stagger - walk as if unable to control one's movements; "The drunken man staggered into the room" careen, keel, lurch, reel, swag walk - use one's feet to advance; advance by steps; "Walk, don't run!"; "We walked instead of driving"; "She walks with a slight limp"; "The patient cannot walk yet"; "Walk over to the cabinet"
	2.	stagger - walk with great difficulty; "He staggered along in the heavy snow" flounder walk - use one's feet to advance; advance by steps; "Walk, don't run!"; "We walked instead of driving"; "She walks with a slight limp"; "The patient cannot walk yet"; "Walk over to the cabinet"
	3.	stagger - to arrange in a systematic order; "stagger the chairs in the lecture hall" distribute arrange, set up - put into a proper or systematic order; "arrange the books on the shelves in chronological order"
	4.	stagger - astound or overwhelm, as with shock; "She was staggered with bills after she tried to rebuild her house following the earthquake" overwhelm, sweep over, whelm, overpower, overtake, overcome - overcome, as with emotions or perceptual stimuli

stagger

verb

1. totter, reel, sway, falter, lurch, wobble, waver, teeter He was staggering and had to lean on the bar.

2. lurch, reel, stumble, sway, totter a government that staggered from crisis to crisis

3. astound, amaze, stun, surprise, shock, shake, overwhelm, astonish, confound, take (someone) aback, bowl over (informal), stupefy, strike (someone) dumb, throw off balance, give (someone) a shock, dumbfound, nonplus, flabbergast, take (someone's) breath away The whole thing staggers me.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

stagger

verb

1. To walk unsteadily:

falter, lurch, reel, stumble, teeter, totter, weave, wobble.

2. To proceed or perform in an unsteady, faltering manner:

blunder, bumble, bungle, flounder, fudge, fumble, limp, muddle, shuffle, stumble.

3. To be irresolute in acting or doing:

dither, falter, halt, hesitate, pause, shilly-shally, vacillate, waver, wobble.

4. To overwhelm with surprise, wonder, or bewilderment:

boggle, bowl over, dumbfound, flabbergast, floor.

Translations

يَتَرَنَّح، يَتَمايَليَتَهَادَىيُصْعَق، يُذْهَليُنَظِّم نَوْبات العَمَل

ohromitpotácet serozložitvrávorat

forbløffeforskydeslingrevakle

schwanken taumeln staffeln erschüttern

παραπαίω τρεκλίζω τρικλίζω

tambalearse

kävellä horjuen

tituber abasourdir atterrer barguigner chanceler

teturati

lépcsõzetessé tesz

skjögraslá út af laginuvíxlraîa; hagræîa

barcollare sbalordire scaglionare

よろめく

비틀거리다

šlitiniuotisudaryti slankųjį grafiką

pārsteigtregulētsatriektstreipuļotveidot slīdošo grafiku

tackať sazdrviť

opotekati se

raggla

เดินเซ

düzenlemekşaşırmaksendelemeksendeleyerek yürümekyalpalamak

đi loạng choạng

蹒跚使错开使震惊

stagger

[ˈstægəʳ]

A. N

1. → tambaleo m

2. staggers (Vet) → modorra f

B. VI → tambalear
he staggered to the door → fue tambaleándose hasta la puerta
he was staggering about → iba tambaleándose

C. VT

1. (= amaze) → dejar anonadado, dejar pasmado
we were staggered by the number of letters we received → nos dejó anonadados or pasmados la cantidad de cartas que recibimos

2. [+ hours, holidays, payments, spokes] → escalonar

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

stagger

[ˈstægə^r]

vi (gen) → chanceler; (when drunk) → tituber
I staggered to the nearest chair
BUT Je m'avançai d'un pas chancelant jusqu'à la chaise la plus proche.

(= astound) [+ person] → stupéfier

[+ hours, holidays] → étaler, échelonner; [+ payments] → échelonner

stagger

vi → schwanken, taumeln; (because of illness, weakness) → wanken; (drunkenly) → torkeln; he was staggering along the street → er taumelte die Straße entlang

(fig: = amaze: news etc) → den Atem verschlagen (+dat), → umhauen (inf); he was staggered to hear of his promotion → die Nachricht von seiner Beförderung verschlug ihm die Sprache or haute ihn um (inf); you stagger me! → da bin ich aber platt! (inf)

hours, holidays → staffeln, stufen; seats, spokes → versetzt anordnen, versetzen

→ Taumeln nt; to give a stagger → taumeln, schwanken; with a stagger → taumelnd, schwankend

staggers sing or pl (Vet) → (Dumm)koller m

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

stagger

[ˈstægəʳ]

1. vt

a. (amaze, person) → sbalordire

b. (holidays, payments, hours) → scaglionare; (objects) → disporre a intervalli

2. vi → barcollare
to stagger along/in/out → avanzare/entrare/uscire barcollando
he staggered to the door → andò verso la porta barcollando

stagger

(ˈstӕgə) verb

1. to sway, move or walk unsteadily. The drunk man staggered along the road.

2. to astonish. I was staggered to hear he had died.

3. to arrange (people's hours of work, holidays etc) so that they do not begin and end at the same times.

ˈstaggering adjective

causing unsteadiness, shock or astonishment. a staggering blow on the side of the head; That piece of news is staggering.

stagger

→ يَتَهَادَى potácet se vakle taumeln τρικλίζω tambalearse kävellä horjuen tituber teturati barcollare よろめく 비틀거리다 wankelen vingle zatoczyć się cambalear идти шатаясь raggla เดินเซ sendelemek đi loạng choạng 蹒跚

stag·ger

v. escalonar, saltear, distribuir con una secuencia; vacilar; tambalear; tambalearse.

stagger

vi tambalear(se)

References in classic literature ?

Nor do I stagger. In short, I am a normal, average man; and I drink in the normal, average way, as drinking goes.

View in context

Again Clayton essayed to stagger on to meet his fate, but once more he pitched headlong to the boat's bottom, nor, try as he would, could he again rise.

View in context

This sensation lasts only a second, for even while you stagger something seems to turn over in your head, bringing uppermost the mental exclamation, full of astonishment and dismay, "By Jove!

View in context

I felt him stagger with the shock, though he uttered no cry; I tried to check my speed, but the sword dropped from his right hand, the rein fell loose from the left, and sinking backward from the saddle he fell to the earth; the other riders swept past us, and by the force of their charge I was driven from the spot.

View in context

Lightning- like blows they were, four of them, right and left; and heavy they were, for Ponta winced away from them and staggered back, half dropping his arms, his shoulders drooping forward and in, as though he were about to double in at the waist and collapse.

View in context

The black-faced man scrambled up and staggered forward, going and leaning over the bulwark by the main shrouds, where he remained, panting and glaring over his shoulder at the dogs.

View in context

The King stood forth like a true man, and received a blow which staggered him.

View in context

He felt the depressing influence of the horrible place setting down upon him; but he staggered to his feet, shaking himself like a great lion, for was he not still Tarzan, mighty Tarzan of the Apes?

View in context

de Villefort staggered and buried his head in the bed.

View in context

Beneath the blow of a fragment of the roof, Tarzan staggered back against the door to the treasure room, his weight pushed it open and his body rolled inward upon the floor.

View in context

But at that moment Trent leaped up, dashed his unloaded revolver full in the man's face and, while he staggered with the shock, a soldier from behind shot him through the heart.

View in context

It was nearly two hours before day-break; that time which in the autumn of the year, may be truly called the dead of night; when the streets are silent and deserted; when even sounds appear to slumber, and profligacy and riot have staggered home to dream; it was at this still and silent hour, that Fagin sat watching in his old lair, with face so distorted and pale, and eyes so red and blood-shot, that he looked less like a man, than like some hideous phantom, moist from the grave, and worried by an evil spirit.