i Register
In some senses, stagger is marked as UK. Watch for register when choosing this word.
stagger
UK /ˈstæɡə/ US /ˈstæɡɚ/
noun 6verb 5
Collocations
6(verb.)
ADV
almost | a little, slightly
blindly
After the accident, he staggered blindly through the crowded street until someone helped him.
about, around, away, back, backwards, forward, off, out
PREP
from, into, out of, through, towards, under, etc.
After the long hike, she staggered towards the nearest bench to rest.
PHRASES
stagger to your feet
After the long hike, he staggered to his feet and looked around for water.
Definitions
noun
1
An unsteady movement of the body in walking or standing as if one were about to fall; a reeling motion.
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.
2
A disease of horses and other animals, attended by reeling, unsteady gait or sudden falling.
parasitic staggers
apoplectic or sleepy staggers
3
Bewilderment; perplexity.
4
The spacing out of various actions over time.
19 April 2016, Rachel Roddy in The Guardian, Rachel Roddy’s Roman spring vegetable stew recipe I don’t include cured pork, although it is very nice, and rather than putting everything in the pan at once I prefer a stagger of ingredients, which ensures each one gets the right amount of time.
5
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.
verb
1
To sway unsteadily, reel, or totter.
She began to stagger across the room.
Deep was the wound; he staggered with the blow.
2
To sway unsteadily, reel, or totter.
The powerful blow of his opponent's fist staggered the boxer.
That hand shall burn in never-quenching fire / That staggers thus my person.
3
To sway unsteadily, reel, or totter.
1708, Joseph Addison, The Present State of the War, and the Necessity of an Augmentation
The enemy staggers.
4
Doubt, waver, be shocked.
He [Abraham] staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief.
5
Doubt, waver, be shocked.
He will stagger the committee when he presents his report.
[W]hoſoever vvill be curious to read the future ſtory of this intricate VVarre (if it be poſsible to compile a ſtory of it) he vvill find himſelfe much ſtagger'd, and put to a kind of riddle; […]
noun
1
One who attends a stag night.
Tallinn no longer takes pride in the title of 'favourite destination of British staggers'.
Thesaurus
Idioms & Phrases
Example Bank
601
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 drop
Wiktionary02
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.
Wiktionary03
the stagger of a drunken man
Wiktionary04
She began to stagger across the room.
Wiktionary05
Deep was the wound; he staggered with the blow.
Wiktionary06
The burnt and bleeding man staggered to his feet, dazed and unbelieving, and asked the startled townspeople who came running whether his fireman and guard were safe. He was kept away from the smoulder
WiktionaryUsage Notes
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