falter

verb fal·ter \ ˈfȯl-tər \

Updated on: 20 Apr 2018

Definition of falter

faltered; faltering play \ˈfȯl-t(ə-)riŋ\

intransitive verb

1 a : to walk unsteadily : stumble

the … stranger falters out of the thicket and drops to his knees
—Dudley Fitts

b : to give way : totter

could feel my legs faltering

c : to move waveringly or hesitatingly

forced to bail out of faltering airplanes over the Alps
—Nat'l Geographic

2 : to speak brokenly or weakly : stammer

her voice faltered

3 a : to hesitate in purpose or action : waver

he never faltered in his determination

b : to lose drive or effectiveness

the business was faltering

transitive verb

: to utter hesitatingly or brokenly

faltered an excuse

—

falterer

play \ˈfȯl-tər-ər\ noun

—

falteringly

play \ˈfȯl-t(ə-)riŋ-lē\ adverb

See falter defined for English-language learners

See falter defined for kids

Examples of falter in a Sentence

The business was faltering due to poor management.
Their initial optimism has faltered.
signs that the economy is faltering
Her steps began to falter.

Recent Examples of falter from the Web

But the character was revamped in 1967 when television executives wanted to attract a female audience to the Batman TV series, then faltering in its third season.

— borys kit, The Hollywood Reporter, "'Batgirl' Movie Back On, Now With 'Bumblebee' Writer (Exclusive)," 9 Apr. 2018
But Pruitt has remained in Trump's good graces for the most part, though a source who is familiar with the matter said the President's confidence in him has faltered some in light of the ethics issues.

— pamela brown, CNN, "Trump floated replacing Sessions with Pruitt this week despite scandals," 5 Apr. 2018
The industry contracted, with Topps, Panini America and Upper Deck left standing, as brands like Score faltered, and others like Fleer and Donruss were acquired.

— alex parker, chicagotribune.com, "From wax packs to pixels: Baseball card collecting goes digital to reconnect with kids," 29 Mar. 2018
And even as a mom to a little girl with limited time for my own beauty routine, my self-tanning has not faltered.

— nicole catanese, Glamour, "I've Worn Self-Tanner Every Day for the Past 20 Years and I'll Never Stop," 22 Mar. 2018
An ultra-conservative prevails against the GOP establishment’s preferred candidate and then falters in a race against a Democratic candidate with the right credentials to compete in the deep South.

— dylan scott, Vox, "Chris McDaniel and the Mississippi Senate race, explained.," 21 Mar. 2018
View from the press box: All things considered, Saturday’s game was eerily similar to that of Thursday – where the Coyotes played impressively well against a playoff contender, but faltered in critical situations.

— richard morin, azcentral, "Devan Dubnyk, Wild send Coyotes to second straight loss," 17 Mar. 2018
New hope as Cincinnati land deal falters Villarreal played two seasons for LA Galaxy II and made seven appearances last season for the MLS' LA Galaxy.

— mark billingsley, sacbee, "New coach, new GM, new roster. How will Republic FC emerge from massive upheaval? | The Sacramento Bee," 16 Mar. 2018
Uncertainty reigns as the industry falters and young bilingual Hispanics choose English television on demand.

— miamiherald, "Miami’s Latin media in crisis? Layoffs and uncertainty abound at Univision and Telemundo | Miami Herald," 9 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'falter.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of falter

Middle English

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

falter Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of falter

hesitate, waver, vacillate, falter mean to show irresolution or uncertainty. hesitate implies a pause before deciding or acting or choosing.

- hesitated before answering the question

waver implies hesitation after seeming to decide and so connotes weakness or a retreat.

- wavered in his support of the rebels

vacillate implies prolonged hesitation from inability to reach a firm decision.

- vacillated until events were out of control

falter implies a wavering or stumbling and often connotes nervousness, lack of courage, or outright fear.

- never once faltered during her testimony

falter

noun

Definition of falter

: an act or instance of faltering

Recent Examples of falter from the Web

But jobs could be in jeopardy if business falters, critics say.

— c. j. hughes, New York Times, "In the Catskills, New Hope for the Return of Tourism," 27 Mar. 2018
Sinclair anticipates that improved blood flow could be important in helping not just aging tissues and organs, but speeding healing of wounds, particularly for people with diabetes who often lose fingers and toes as their circulation falters.

— alice park, Time, "This Compound Can Reverse Aging in Mice. Will It Work in People?," 22 Mar. 2018
Stockmann is able to persuade his friends, including the editor of the newspaper, that telling the truth about the water is important, but his environmental campaign falters.

— rachel shteir, New York Times, "Ibsen Wrote ‘An Enemy of the People’ in 1882. Trump Has Made It Popular Again.," 9 Mar. 2018
However, his reputation with West Ham supporters was quickly soured following an abysmal start to the following season, seeing his side falter in the league and being threatened with relegation to the Championship.

— SI.com, "Former West Ham Manager Slaven Bilic Reveals He Regrets Not Leaving the Club After 2016/17 Campaign," 26 Feb. 2018
Taking it by position, the Giants might have the edge in several places: right field (Andrew McCutchen, should Yasiel Puig falter), second base (Joe Panik) and catcher (Buster Posey).

— bruce jenkins, San Francisco Chronicle, "Giants’ win helps fans dream of beating Dodgers," 24 Feb. 2018
And if any of those guys falters, the club can select from the likes of Jason Vargas, Jaime Garcia, Jeremy Hellickson and Chris Tillman, among countless others, to round out the group.

— ted berg, For The Win, "There are still enough unsigned MLB free agents to field a competitive team," 5 Feb. 2018
If his health falters, Dallas could look into acquiring defensemen such as the Pittsburgh Penguins' Ian Cole ($2.1 million) or Ben Hutton of the Vancouver Canucks ($2 million).

— peter dawson, star-telegram, "Here's how the Dallas Stars should approach NHL trade deadline," 20 Feb. 2018
When the jet stream falters, that polar air can make its way south, sometimes as far as the Gulf Coast.

— avery thompson, Popular Mechanics, "Why the Eastern U.S. Is So Cold Right Now," 29 Dec. 2017