tottered; tottering; totters
2
a
: to tremble or rock as if about to fall : sway
b
: to become unstable : threaten to collapse
Examples of totter in a Sentence
Verb
The child tottered across the room.
He tottered away to bed.
Recent Examples on the Web
Matthew Carey, Deadline, 25 Mar. 2025
Buruma has much to say about the shifting sands of loyalties as the Nazi and Japanese empires collapsed and the dominions of the old European imperialist powers tottered.
—Max Hastings, Foreign Affairs, 15 Oct. 2013
Preston Cooper, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2025
His son struggles to keep the Vegas’ gym, in Los Angeles, afloat amid the pandemic; his grandson, who is gay, totters between academic ambition and self-exploitation.
—The New Yorker, 23 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for totter
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Verb
Through a popular uprising and a long and hideous civil war, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime tottered at times, but held on, propped up by allies Russia and Iran.
—Matthew Carey, Deadline, 25 Mar. 2025
Buruma has much to say about the shifting sands of loyalties as the Nazi and Japanese empires collapsed and the dominions of the old European imperialist powers tottered.
—Max Hastings, Foreign Affairs, 15 Oct. 2013
Noun
Now, courts are starting to look into the mess and pulling out some of the Jenga blocks on which the system totters.
—Preston Cooper, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2025
His son struggles to keep the Vegas’ gym, in Los Angeles, afloat amid the pandemic; his grandson, who is gay, totters between academic ambition and self-exploitation.
—The New Yorker, 23 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for totter
Cite this Entry
“Totter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/totter. Accessed 24 Apr. 2025.
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