teeter

1 of 2

verb

tee·​ter ˈtē-tər How to pronounce teeter (audio)
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

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
In the late twentieth century, however, Ethiopia again teetered at the edge of disintegration. Alex De Waal, Foreign Affairs, 8 Apr. 2024 If Wolf Hall was about Cromwell’s rise from humble beginnings to become Henry VII’s chief advisor and one of the most powerful men of his age, The Mirror and the Light traces his final years, when King Henry’s reign is teetering on the edge. Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Apr. 2024 The evacuation of the eight Americans, one Canadian and one French volunteer comes as Haiti is teetering on the brink of collapse. Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff, Washington Post, 13 Mar. 2024 After years of teetering on the brink of state collapse, there has been recent cause for hope in Guatemala, with the election of Bernardo Arévalo as president last August. John Washington, Harper's Magazine, 26 Feb. 2024 Men and women were cinched at the waist, teetering on heels, bursting with padding and furnished with chest plates; faces were glazed over by makeup artist Pat McGrath to create a porcelain finish. Trey Taylor, CNN, 13 Mar. 2024 The teetering car was eventually pulled back to safety using a crane. Chris Foran, Journal Sentinel, 13 Mar. 2024 The district’s hospital system, which had withstood the onslaught of the coronavirus pandemic, began to teeter. Terrence McCoy, Washington Post, 10 Mar. 2024 Take away the teetering conceptual pieces of the book and there’s little that’s distinctive about 3 Body Problem as a science fiction brand. Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Mar. 2024
Noun
The first 48 hours can be especially tenuous, requiring meticulous bedside adjustment of machines and medications, as the patient teeters between life and death. Helen Ouyang, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2024 This makes Shirley an uneven biopic that teeters between BLM stereotypes and the filmmakers’ own self-consciousness. Armond White, National Review, 27 Mar. 2024 The fish is fried to create a cradle for salad — julienne daikon, cucumber and smoky pineapple — between head and tail, and the construction teeters on a vinaigrette that’s racy with ginger and chilies. Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 26 Mar. 2024 Julianne Moore's bold mane teeters between bright copper and the deeper auburn seen here. Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 22 Mar. 2024 Bitcoin also edged closer to an all-time high as the popular cryptocurrency teeters near levels last seen in 2021. Alexandra Banner, CNN, 1 Mar. 2024 Although the film strays drastically from Stephen King's novel, Stanley Kubrick's The Shining is a complex film that teeters between the psychological and supernatural horror subgenres. EW.com, 16 Oct. 2023 His endearing relationship with his grandson, Morty, constantly teeters between unhinged dependency and existential rage. Huntley Woods, EW.com, 18 Oct. 2023 Much like skirt hemlines, which supposedly get shorter in boom times and lengthen when the economy teeters, office holiday parties have never been immune to the flux of the broader corporate world. Emma Goldberg, New York Times, 17 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'teeter.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

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

First Known Use

Verb

1844, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun

1860, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of teeter was in 1844

Dictionary Entries Near teeter

Cite this Entry

“Teeter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/teeter. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.

Kids Definition

teeter

verb
tee·​ter
ˈtēt-ər
1
a
: to move unsteadily
teetered on the edge and fell over the side
2
teeter noun

More from Merriam-Webster on teeter

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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