stagger

stagger
stag|ger1 [ˈstægə US -ər] v
[Date: 1500-1600; Origin: stacker 'to stagger' (13-19 centuries), from Old Norse stakra, from staka 'to push']
1.) [I always + adverb/preposition]
to walk or move unsteadily, almost falling over
= ↑stumble
He managed to stagger home.
She staggered back a step.
The old man staggered drunkenly to his feet.
2.) [T]
to make someone feel very surprised or shocked
= ↑amaze
What staggered us was the sheer size of her salary.
3.) [i]also stagger on
to continue doing something when you seem to be going to fail and you do not know what will happen
He staggered on for another two years.
stagger from sth to sth
The company staggered from one crisis to the next.
4.) [T]
to arrange people's working hours, holidays etc so that they do not all begin and end at the same time
Jim and his wife stagger their work hours so one of them can be at home with the kids.
5.) [T]
to start a race with each runner at a different place on a curved track
stagger 2
stagger2 n [C usually singular]
an unsteady movement of someone who is having difficulty in walking

Dictionary of contemporary English. 2013.

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  • 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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