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
Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 4 Sep. 2024
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
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
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Verb
As the sun prepared to make its appearance over Charleston’s horizon, Eastern 212’s 78 passengers began straggling out onto the tarmac and up the boarding stairs onto the plane.
—Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 4 Sep. 2024
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
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
Cite this Entry
“Straggle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/straggle. Accessed 5 Jul. 2025.
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