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totter

verb

ˈtä-tər How to pronounce totter (audio)
Definition of totternext
1
as in to stagger
to move forward while swaying from side to side tottered around the house as she practiced walking in high heels

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in to falter
to swing unsteadily back and forth or from side to side the figurine tottered precariously for a moment before falling off the shelf

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 totter Now, even that tiny effort is tottering. — Mark Z. Barabak, Mercury News, 27 Jan. 2026 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 On the floor, waist-high piles of books tottered like miniature leaning towers of Pisa. — The Christian Science Monitor, Christian Science Monitor, 12 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for totter
Recent Examples of Synonyms for totter
  1. stagger
  2. falter
  3. lurch
  4. tremble
  5. shake
  6. wobble
Verb
  • Cue years of staggered, steadily worsening consequences, unboxed by Strippoli with gruesome relish.
    — Guy Lodge, Variety, 7 Sep. 2026
  • As the deli’s surveillance video rolled, his client went from calmly standing at the counter with a bottle of Gatorade to staggering to the floor, clutching his leg and tearing at his pants.
    — Alison J. Stein, HubSpot, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of stagger
Verb
  • Other elements of this team that were so strong last year also faltered, from pass protection to the tight ends to Davante Adams to the run defense and overall pass rush.
    — Matt Barrows, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Many musicians have faltered when trying to follow their first, most famous song.
    — Katie Heaney, Vulture, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of falter
Verb
  • Still, there is no working around the fact that a manual transmission is a pain in traffic – with the endless clutching and shifting and lurching forward in first gear.
    — Jody Mamone, Hartford Courant, 14 Sep. 2026
  • With a cigarette dangling from her lips, ashes and curse words ever ready to fall, Angela lurches around the house critical of everything and everyone.
    — Jay Weissberg, Variety, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of lurch
Verb
  • Those afflicted would tremble and jerk around, lose the ability to stand or swallow, and, after many months of slow suffering, die.
    — David Remnick, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Back in their dorm room after the beating, Valentine watched as Okeadu began to tremble uncontrollably.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 30 June 2026
Definition of tremble
Verb
  • As Gansey greeted them, shaking hands, taking photos and smiling endlessly, one stepped forward with a question that encapsulated everything.
    — Tony Jones, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
  • More than a year of demonstrations sometimes drawing hundreds of thousands of people shook Vucic more than ever during his 14 years in power.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of shake
Verb
  • My admiration for Matthiessen has wobbled a bit but is still essentially grateful.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Atmospheric turbulence near the horizon can make Venus wobble and shimmer, but its phase usually cuts through.
    — Jamie Carter, Space.com, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of wobble

Browse Nearby Words

totted (up)
totter
tottered
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Totter.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/totter. Accessed 18 Sep. 2026.

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