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
  • The hole gently bends from right to left, with fairway bunkers staggered along both sides.
    — Tim Corlett, Forbes.com, 2 Aug. 2026
  • The political crisis has meant that legislative elections, originally scheduled for July 27, have now been staggered into three separate days over a period of two weeks.
    — Hasan Ali, Christian Science Monitor, 26 July 2026
Definition of stagger
Verb
  • Extreme heat is redefining electricity as emergency infrastructure, pushing grids to their limits as demand soars and supply falters.
    — Monica Sanders, Forbes.com, 6 Aug. 2026
  • Two decades’ worth of Chinese investments in research and foreign policy are coming into bloom, Osnos writes, at the same moment that America is faltering on the world stage.
    — David Remnick, New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of falter
Verb
  • Republicans see Democrats lurching to the left and embracing socialism as an opening to link their opponents to the far more radical communism.
    — Garrett Downs, CNBC, 4 Aug. 2026
  • Markets have lurched up and down as oil prices shot higher because of the war with Iran.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of lurch
Verb
  • Back in their dorm room after the beating, Valentine watched as Okeadu began to tremble uncontrollably.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 30 June 2026
  • Each time the leaves trembled, the sunlight filtering through them also wavered.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 11 June 2026
Definition of tremble
Verb
  • The heat now poses an additional danger to residents still shaken by the quake, many of whom are sleeping in their cars after their homes were damaged or destroyed.
    — Yumi Asada, CNN Money, 4 Aug. 2026
  • Chad Gable and Penta shook hands as Gable’s family watched from ringside.
    — Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of shake
Verb
  • The thought of repeating a mission like the Haute Route, even eight years later, made my knees wobble.
    — Winston Ross, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026
  • And a new cast of Osage and Black supporting characters have come to wobble the thrive-in-isolation narrative.
    — Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 23 July 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 8 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on totter

Nglish: Translation of totter for Spanish Speakers

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