1
as in to lurch
to move forward while swaying from side to side
I was so tired last night that I just staggered upstairs to bed without eating dinner
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in to falter
to show uncertainty about the right course of action
a daunting problem that would make even the most decisive person stagger just a bit
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of stagger
Cheng likes to build muni bond ladders, which means staggering the maturity dates of multiple bonds.
—
Michelle Fox, CNBC, 29 Oct. 2025
The logistical feat those intrepid women accomplished staggers the mind of any contemporary author.
—Adrian Miller, Southern Living, 28 Oct. 2025
For his part, Gonzalez staggers outside and falls to his knees.
—Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 27 Oct. 2025
To get through the season and the playoffs, staggering the minutes of Green and Horford is logical, even with Quintin Post picking up some center minutes.
—Jannelle Moore, Mercury News, 21 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for stagger
Michelle Fox, CNBC, 29 Oct. 2025
The logistical feat those intrepid women accomplished staggers the mind of any contemporary author.
—Adrian Miller, Southern Living, 28 Oct. 2025
For his part, Gonzalez staggers outside and falls to his knees.
—Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 27 Oct. 2025
To get through the season and the playoffs, staggering the minutes of Green and Horford is logical, even with Quintin Post picking up some center minutes.
—Jannelle Moore, Mercury News, 21 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for stagger
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stagger
Verb
-
This can result in a kind of emotional whiplash, with the tone of the videos lurching between joy and devastation.—
Lindsay Lowe,
Parents,
8 Nov. 2025
-
Perry’s films can lurch from romance to madcap Madea comedy to skeletons-in-the-closet family drama and back…all in the space of 20 minutes.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Rayo began 2023-24 well under Iraola’s successor Francisco Rodriguez but then started to falter.—
Dermot Corrigan,
New York Times,
9 Nov. 2025
-
The Rams did not falter and an 80-yard kickoff return touchdown for Jameson Bongiolatti cut the deficit to 21-7.—
Brian Roach,
Boston Herald,
8 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Women often totter along a delicate line between beauty and torture, femininity and the bondage of expectation.—
Jane Wooldridge,
Miami Herald,
7 Dec. 2025
-
But The Gilded Age doesn’t do pure villains with its main cast, and Oscar totters between failson and tragic figure, the closeted heir of the Van Rhijn family dragged to hell and back after being defrauded of his mother’s fortune.—
Kathryn VanArendonk,
Vulture,
1 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
But Maye doesn’t hesitate to break the pocket and scramble towards daylight when things break down.—
Mike Jones,
New York Times,
9 Nov. 2025
-
Many people like the idea of innovation but hesitate to share the road with fully autonomous vehicles.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
8 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
An hour later, for its first concert since the fires, parishioners sat in awe as Grammy Award winning violinist Anne Akiko Meyers weaved her bow across her violin, the music of Johann Sebastian Bach echoing through the church.—
Camelia Heins,
Daily News,
8 Jan. 2026
-
Culturally, 2026 is the year cannabis truly weaves into everyday life.—
Amplified Content Studio,
Mercury News,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Government agencies and businesses that invest in this training, and that insist every critical number survives a deterministic check, will capture AI's benefits without stumbling into its blind spots.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
8 Jan. 2026
-
Dodge, still suffering the consequences of axing the popular previous generations of Charger and Challenger muscle cars, saw sales stumble down 28% compared with the previous year.—
Liam Rappleye,
USA Today,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The line has rolled together for the last four games.—
Jonas Siegel,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
-
That lasted all of two minutes, with Green leaving the game again after rolling his left ankle defending a Leonard drive.—
Joseph Dycus,
Mercury News,
6 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Even with my winter boots and sturdy soles, caution dictates a short stride, a shuffling gait end eyes riveted to the slippery ground.—
Thomas Cangelosi,
Hartford Courant,
4 Jan. 2026
-
First, the sophomore shuffled back into coverage after showing A-gap pressure to intercept a Bryce Underwood pass over the middle of the field, ending a key fourth-quarter drive.—
David Eckert,
Austin American Statesman,
1 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Stagger.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stagger. Accessed 10 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share