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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of totter
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.
My father has always been an avid learner and reader.
—The Christian Science Monitor, Christian Science Monitor, 12 June 2025
As Joe Biden tottered and fell (literally as well as metaphorically), more than a few pundits compared him to Lear, a man who was ruined by age, pride, and the flattery of sycophants.
—Tyler Austin Harper, The Atlantic, 16 May 2025
Dina Tomczak, the school’s athletic director, tottered into her office having barely slept.
—Brooks Kubena, New York Times, 1 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for totter
Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 1 Dec. 2025
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
As Joe Biden tottered and fell (literally as well as metaphorically), more than a few pundits compared him to Lear, a man who was ruined by age, pride, and the flattery of sycophants.
—Tyler Austin Harper, The Atlantic, 16 May 2025
Dina Tomczak, the school’s athletic director, tottered into her office having barely slept.
—Brooks Kubena, New York Times, 1 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for totter
Recent Examples of Synonyms for totter
Verb
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They were staggered, self-pitying, and seemingly traumatized by the denouement of the Joe Biden years.—
Mark Leibovich,
The Atlantic,
11 Feb. 2026
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The first 10 minutes of the film are set in Norms, where a grungy man staggers in with a bomb, ranting about artificial intelligence.—
Fielding Buck,
Daily News,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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But in his first appearances on Olympic ice, Malinin showed some fallibility and faltered in the short program of the team event, finishing behind Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama.—
Alice Park,
Time,
14 Feb. 2026
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Trying to hold all of that in, trying to be the one who never falters is not sustainable.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
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When, at my photographer’s request, the president approaches the window of his office to open the blinds, his bodyguard lurches forward to close them.—
Simon Shuster,
The Atlantic,
12 Feb. 2026
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The big polar bear lurched forward, hitting top speed in two strides.—
Scott Haugen,
Outdoor Life,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Even the opening credits, some written in slithering hair, seem to tremble out of either fear or ecstasy.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Feb. 2026
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And the actions of these players have observers: a disempowered domestic staff, forced only to watch in a kind of trembling horror, like Palm Beach waiters seeing altogether too much, linking this work based on Oscar Wilde’s famously controversial play to classic Greek tragedy.—
Chris Jones,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
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In recent editions, the rosters were drafted by James, Durant and Antetokounmpo in an attempt to shake things up.—
Peter Sblendorio,
New York Daily News,
13 Feb. 2026
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Jothan saw us and shook our hands, as did Michael Ray, but Sun Ra scuffled by with an air of depthless blankness.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The stock wobbled for a few days immediately after the report but then rose sharply, from about $6 per share to $15 per share by the end of May 2025.—
Jim Edwards,
Fortune,
17 Feb. 2026
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When the energetic Sun clashes with unpredictable Uranus, plans are likely to wobble, pushing us to adapt expectations and stretch comfort zones.—
Tarot.com,
Chicago Tribune,
16 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Totter.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/totter. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.
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