as in snails
someone who moves slowly or more slowly than others
by three o'clock, only a few stragglers were still making their painful way to the marathon's finish
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Recent Examples of stragglers
Getting rid of the Super Bowl stragglers is awkward.
—
Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 8 Feb. 2026
Get those ballots filled out, stragglers.
—Pete Hammond, Deadline, 16 Jan. 2026
The last few stragglers are set to report quarterly results this week.
—Zev Fima, CNBC, 7 Dec. 2025
Its companions are four Russian mobsters — stragglers from the previous season — laying on their stomachs with their necks outstretched over the rail.
—Demetrius Patterson, HollywoodReporter, 27 Oct. 2025
The last Orionid stragglers usually appear sometime in early to mid-November.
—Joe Rao, Space.com, 17 Oct. 2025
Lightly prune the fern to remove dead fronds, long stragglers, and any fronds that are damaged.
—Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 13 Oct. 2025
There were very few stragglers, if any, arriving late.
—Joshua Kloke, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2025
Weakened stragglers were shot or simply collapsed and died on the road.
—Literary Hub, 17 Sep. 2025
Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 8 Feb. 2026
Get those ballots filled out, stragglers.
—Pete Hammond, Deadline, 16 Jan. 2026
The last few stragglers are set to report quarterly results this week.
—Zev Fima, CNBC, 7 Dec. 2025
Its companions are four Russian mobsters — stragglers from the previous season — laying on their stomachs with their necks outstretched over the rail.
—Demetrius Patterson, HollywoodReporter, 27 Oct. 2025
The last Orionid stragglers usually appear sometime in early to mid-November.
—Joe Rao, Space.com, 17 Oct. 2025
Lightly prune the fern to remove dead fronds, long stragglers, and any fronds that are damaged.
—Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 13 Oct. 2025
There were very few stragglers, if any, arriving late.
—Joshua Kloke, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2025
Weakened stragglers were shot or simply collapsed and died on the road.
—Literary Hub, 17 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stragglers
snails
Noun
-
The tube will then act as a protective barrier over seeds, preventing common garden pests like snails and slugs from reaching them.—
Michelle Mastro,
The Spruce,
19 Feb. 2026
-
But now, as non-native species of apple snails disappear, the endangered Everglades bird, the snail kite, is paying the price.—
Sofia Baltodano,
Miami Herald,
17 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Stragglers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stragglers. Accessed 28 Feb. 2026.
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