stagger

8 definitions • 10 examples

to walk or move with difficulty as if you are going to fall:

After he was attacked, he managed to stagger to the phone and call for help.

figurative The company is staggering under a $15 million debt and will almost certainly collapse by the end of the year.

to cause someone to feel shocked or surprised because of something unexpected or very unusual happening:

He staggered all his colleagues by suddenly announcing that he was leaving the company at the end of the month.

to arrange things, especially hours of work, holidays, or events, so that they begin at different times from those of other people:

Some countries have staggered school holidays so that holiday resorts do not become overcrowded.

If the start of a race is staggered, the competitors start at different times or in different positions.

a way of walking or moving in which you almost fall:

He left the bar with a drunken stagger.

to walk or move awkwardly, as if you have lost your balance, or to cause someone to move awkwardly or to lose his or her balance:

[ T ] When he hit his head on a shelf, it momentarily staggered him.

[ I ] She staggered out of bed to answer the phone.

to arrange events or schedules so that they happen at different times, or to arrange objects so they are not regular:

The clinics will try to stagger vaccination times to minimize waits and confusion.

to arrange for things like holidays, working hours, or payments to happen at different times so that they are easier to manage:

Utilities companies will allow customers to stagger payments when they have bills they cannot pay.

Over half of American firms stagger the election of board members, so that the whole board is not replaced at once.