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
Moisés Naím, The Atlantic, 25 Mar. 2025
The country’s economy is tottering and reliant on IMF bailouts, while the powerful military is entrenched in every aspect of life, according to its critics.
—Sophia Saifi, CNN, 22 Feb. 2025
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
The result would be that incumbents would lag, populists would surge, and democratic institutions would totter.
—Moisés Naím, The Atlantic, 25 Mar. 2025
The country’s economy is tottering and reliant on IMF bailouts, while the powerful military is entrenched in every aspect of life, according to its critics.
—Sophia Saifi, CNN, 22 Feb. 2025
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 4 Apr. 2025.
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