stagger

UK /ˈstæɡə/ · US /ˈstæɡɚ/ noun, verb

Forms staggers staggering staggered

1. noun An unsteady movement of the body in walking or standing as if one were about to fall; a reeling motion. “the stagger of a drunken man”
2. noun (veterinary medicine) A disease of horses and other animals, attended by reeling, unsteady gait or sudden falling. “parasitic staggers”
3. noun Bewilderment; perplexity.
4. noun The spacing out of various actions over time.
5. noun (motor racing) 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.
6. noun (aviation) The horizontal positioning of a biplane, triplane, or multiplane's wings in relation to one another.
7. verb (intransitive) In standing or walking, to sway from one side to the other as if about to fall; to stand or walk unsteadily; to reel or totter. “She began to stagger across the room.”
8. verb (transitive) To cause to reel or totter. “The powerful blow of his opponent's fist staggered the boxer.”
9. verb (intransitive) To cease to stand firm; to begin to give way; to fail.
10. verb (intransitive) To begin to doubt and waver in purposes; to become less confident or determined; to hesitate.
11. verb (transitive) To cause to doubt and waver; to make to hesitate; to make less steady or confident; to shock. “He will stagger the committee when he presents his report.”
12. verb 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.
13. verb To arrange similar objects such that each is ahead or above and to one side of the next. “We will stagger the starting positions for the race on the oval track.”
14. verb To schedule in intervals or at different times. “We will stagger the run so the faster runners can go first, then the joggers.”
15. noun (UK) One who attends a stag night.

Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “stagger”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details