stagger
/ˈstæɡɚ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.82 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
An unsteady movement of the body in walking or standing as if one were about to fall; a reeling motion.
noun
noun
The spacing out of various actions over time.
noun
The difference in circumference between the left and right tires on a racing vehicle. It is used on oval tracks to make the car turn better in the corners.
noun
The horizontal positioning of a biplane, triplane, or multiplane's wings in relation to one another.
Example Sentences
- "7 October 2012, Paolo Bandini in The Guardian, Denver Broncos 21 New England Patriots 31 - as it happened Put down the rosary beads folks, I believe hell may just have frozen over. Peyton Manning drops back, sees nothing open and runs for a first down. If you can call that running. More like the stagger of a wounded rhino. Did the job, though"
- "Afy slowly gathered in the sense of the words. She gasped twice, as if her breath had gone, and then, with a stagger and a shiver, fell heavily to the ground."
- "the stagger of a drunken man"
- "And when old Fezziwig and Mrs. Fezziwig had gone all through the dance; advance and retire; both hands to your partner, bow and courtesy, corkscrew, thread the needle, and back again to your place; Fezziwig "cut"—cut so deftly that he appeared to wink with his legs, and came upon his feet again without a stagger."
- "parasitic staggers"
- "apoplectic or sleepy staggers"
Etymology
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: stakeren, stakra
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈstæɡɚ/
- British English: /ˈstæɡə/
Usage
- Intransitive verb
- Transitive verb
- British usage