1
as in to falter
to swing unsteadily back and forth or from side to side
he nervously teetered at the edge of the pool before finally diving in
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in to stagger
to move forward while swaying from side to side
the toddler teetered down the rink in her new ice skates
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in to hesitate
to show uncertainty about the right course of action
was teetering on the brink of making a decision about college
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of teeter
Since 2009, Cupertino’s homelessness count has teetered back and forth, reaching a high of 159 in 2019.
—
Luis Melecio-Zambrano, Mercury News, 16 Oct. 2025
New York teetered on the edge of bankruptcy - the city shuttered more than a dozen firehouses, teachers went on strike and garbage piled up in the streets.
—NPR, 15 Oct. 2025
The recent protein hubbub is teetering on overblown—not every snack food needs to be jacked up with the stuff.
—Erica Sloan, SELF, 8 Oct. 2025
Completely outplayed by the Brewers thus far in a National League Division Series, the Cubs are teetering on the brink of elimination after Monday night’s 7-3 loss at American Family Field.
—Patrick Mooney, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for teeter
Luis Melecio-Zambrano, Mercury News, 16 Oct. 2025
New York teetered on the edge of bankruptcy - the city shuttered more than a dozen firehouses, teachers went on strike and garbage piled up in the streets.
—NPR, 15 Oct. 2025
The recent protein hubbub is teetering on overblown—not every snack food needs to be jacked up with the stuff.
—Erica Sloan, SELF, 8 Oct. 2025
Completely outplayed by the Brewers thus far in a National League Division Series, the Cubs are teetering on the brink of elimination after Monday night’s 7-3 loss at American Family Field.
—Patrick Mooney, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for teeter
Recent Examples of Synonyms for teeter
Verb
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After Ohtani faltered, the game was the Blue Jays’ to lose, but the Dodgers kept pecking away.—
Barry M. Bloom,
Sportico.com,
2 Nov. 2025
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And when New York falters, the ripple effects are often national.—
MSNBC Newsweek,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Its board of directors has six seats, with elections staggered so that half of the board turns over at a time.—
Ilana Arougheti,
Kansas City Star,
5 Nov. 2025
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Multiple batteries can address longer gaps in energy production when their discharges are staggered.—
Sophie Hartley,
IndyStar,
4 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Blashill didn’t hesitate to go right back to Knight after the goalie’s first poor performance of the season Thursday night in Winnipeg.—
Mark Lazerus,
New York Times,
2 Nov. 2025
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The Nashville forward was awarded the PK after Miami goalkeeper Rocco Rios Novo hesitated coming off his line and was called for a foul.—
Michelle Kaufman,
Miami Herald,
2 Nov. 2025
Verb
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La Niña sets the stage by keeping moisture available, while the easterly QBO can trigger a wobbling polar vortex that pushes Arctic cold southward.—
Brandi D. Addison,
Freep.com,
7 Nov. 2025
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Does your ankle wobble excessively or feel unstable?—
Dana Santas,
CNN Money,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Back then, Newcastle’s thin squad staggered between results, lurching from challenging the best sides in the league to befuddling losses to inferior squads.—
Jacob Whitehead,
New York Times,
2 Nov. 2025
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But as the shutdown lurches through its fifth week, and legislators direct blame at each other, food pantries across the Kansas City area are left to grapple with the fallout.—
Kacen Bayless,
Kansas City Star,
31 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The global economy has for months been roiled by a tit-for-tat of mounting tariffs, export controls and other penalties hitting areas from high-tech goods to high-seas shipping, as the US and China have vacillated between escalation and negotiation.—
Betsy Klein,
CNN Money,
30 Oct. 2025
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By the end of March 2018 Aydın seemed unsure whether to try to clear his name or lay low, vacillating between the two strategies.—
Moisés Naím,
Literary Hub,
27 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The kind of person who trembles at watermarks is not the sort of person who dares to put marble in the dishwasher.—
Julia Harrison,
Architectural Digest,
16 Oct. 2025
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The Maine trembled and angled up, then listed to port, throwing him from his chair.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 Oct. 2025
Verb
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This is a universe in which towers totter above precipices, cellars drip hollowly and women wear impossible dresses in the snow.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
4 Sep. 2025
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On the floor, waist-high piles of books tottered like miniature leaning towers of Pisa. My father has always been an avid learner and reader.—
The Christian Science Monitor,
Christian Science Monitor,
12 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Teeter.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/teeter. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.
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