tottered

verb

past tense of totter
1
as in staggered
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 faltered
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 tottered Like a lot of us who tottered into consciousness in the second half of the 20th century, Les Claypool grew up with cartoons from the family television beaming into his retinas. — Sasha Geffen, Pitchfork, 2 Aug. 2026 Outside, a gull tottered to the window and tapped its beak against the glass. — Literary Hub, 13 July 2026 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tottered
  1. staggered
  2. faltered
  3. lurched
  4. wobbled
  5. shook
  6. rocked
  7. shuddered
Verb
  • The screening times were staggered, allowing Pawlikowski to hurry from one place to the next and introduce his film.
    — Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026
  • The firm noted that the apps had staggered platform releases split between Apple and Google Play, which would impact their totals.
    — Jonathan Vanian, CNBC, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of staggered
Verb
  • Washington’s diplomatic efforts to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine have faltered, with Moscow looking to up its defense spending next year.
    — Nicholas Wu, semafor.com, 2 Oct. 2026
  • From 2019 to 2022, Solomon led an aggressive expansion of the bank’s consumer-lending business, which ultimately faltered and resulted in billions of pretax losses.
    — Morgan Chittum, Fortune, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of faltered
Verb
  • The airplane lurched skyward, and Elwood was strapped in for the ride.
    — Rob Picheta, CNN Money, 30 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 lurched
Verb
  • My admiration for Matthiessen has wobbled a bit but is still essentially grateful.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Newcastle’s summer wobbled when news emerged in late June that Guimaraes was fixed on Arsenal.
    — George Caulkin, New York Times, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of wobbled
Verb
  • O’Shea shook hands with the referee and his assistants but there was no attempt to shake the hand of Israel captain Manor Solomon.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 27 Sep. 2026
  • The policeman held on to Shorty’s biceps and shook them slightly, both giving the sense of a loving embrace and using his strength to lift Shorty ever so slightly off the ground and clear of the entrance.
    — Anand Giridharadas, New Yorker, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of shook
Verb
  • The continuation of this buyer’s market will be contingent upon inflation, which has been rocked by tariffs and the Iran war, as well as concerns about what some have called a growing AI bubble.
    — Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 26 Sep. 2026
  • Then there is Swift’s BFF Ed Sheeran, whose tour was rocked by his opener, rapper Macklemore, attracting the ire of billionaire businessman Robert Kraft after Macklemore shared his pro-Palestinian feelings from the stage.
    — Lisa Respers France, CNN Money, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of rocked
Verb
  • Conservatives shuddered to think how close the country had come to permanent entangling alliances.
    — Beverly Gage, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026
  • McDonald’s shares fell nearly 5% Wednesday, their largest percentage drop since April 2025, as investors shuddered at the eye-popping price of improving McDonald’s 46,000 global stores.
    — Dee-Ann Durbin, Los Angeles Times, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of shuddered

Browse Nearby Words

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tottered
tottering
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Cite this Entry

“Tottered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tottered. Accessed 5 Oct. 2026.

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