teeter

1 of 2

verb

tee·​ter ˈtē-tər 

teetered; teetering; teeters

intransitive verb

1

a

: to move unsteadily : wobble

b

: waver, vacillate

teetered on the brink of bankruptcy

2

: seesaw

teeter

2 of 2

noun

: seesaw sense 2b

Synonyms of teeter

Verb

• falter
• wobble
• tremble
• totter
• shake
• rock

Examples of teeter in a Sentence

Verb

The pile of books teetered and fell to the floor.

She teetered down the street in her high heels.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Lucarelli’s command teetered as the game lagged on the MacBook. — Stephen J. Nesbitt, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2026

Zooming out, scout families sometimes teeter around debt to pay for the cookies. — Bedatri D. Choudhury, Bon Appetit Magazine, 11 Aug. 2026

Noun

Over the decades, Cricket and Olympia teeter between friendship and love, their orbits colliding at New York galleries and Paris ateliers before painfully coming apart again. — Air Mail, 27 June 2026

While the special effects teeter on the PlayStation 2 side and the script might be thinner than a wafer, as soon as Adkins steps into the scene, everything feels infinitely better. — Sergio Pereira, Space.com, 25 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English titeren to totter, reel; akin to Old High German zittarōn to shiver

First Known Use

Verb

1843, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Noun

1860, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing teeter

• teeter-totter

Rhymes for teeter

• beater
• cheater
• dieter
• eater
• heater
• liter
• litre
• meter
• metre
• neater
• praetor
• seater

Kids Definition

teeter

verb

tee·​ter

ˈtēt-ər

1

a

: to move unsteadily

teetered on the edge and fell over the side

b

: waver sense 1

2

: seesaw entry 2 sense 2

teeter noun