straggled; straggling
ˈstra-g(ə-)liŋ 
2
: to trail off from others of its kind
little cabins straggling off into the woods
: a straggling group (as of persons or objects)
Examples of straggle in a Sentence
Verb
The children straggled in from outside.
People straggled off the train.
She straggled behind the rest of the group.
Branches straggled out and blocked the path.
Recent Examples on the Web
M.t. Richards, Chicago Tribune, 30 Apr. 2023
Its wide-verging lanes wind between stone walls and flattish meadows to straggling villages like Shipton Moyne, whose modest church harbors a startlingly beautiful Elizabethan monument.
—Town & Country, 28 Apr. 2023
Maya Jasanoff, Foreign Affairs, 11 Dec. 2018
Cloistered from civilization by a steep 900-foot climb over loose and jutting rock, the glade goes unseen by most everyone but a straggle of hikers on the Appalachian Trail, the 2,180-mile footpath carved into the roofs of 14 eastern states.
—Earl Swift, Outside Online, 2 Sep. 2015
See all Example Sentences for straggle 
Verb
As soon as the lights dimmed at the band’s United Center show, images of marine life, of straggling sea turtles, flickered across a balmy blue LED wall.
—M.t. Richards, Chicago Tribune, 30 Apr. 2023
Its wide-verging lanes wind between stone walls and flattish meadows to straggling villages like Shipton Moyne, whose modest church harbors a startlingly beautiful Elizabethan monument.
—Town & Country, 28 Apr. 2023
Noun
Famine devastates Bengal, killing more than three million people; Datta will see the starving straggle into the stairwells of his apartment building to avoid being scooped up by vans sent to drive them out to the countryside to die.
—Maya Jasanoff, Foreign Affairs, 11 Dec. 2018
Cloistered from civilization by a steep 900-foot climb over loose and jutting rock, the glade goes unseen by most everyone but a straggle of hikers on the Appalachian Trail, the 2,180-mile footpath carved into the roofs of 14 eastern states.
—Earl Swift, Outside Online, 2 Sep. 2015
See all Example Sentences for straggle
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'straggle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near straggle
Cite this Entry
“Straggle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/straggle. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share