tottered

verb

Definition of totterednext
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

Relevance
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

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for tottered
  1. staggered
  2. faltered
  3. shook
Verb
  • Initially convinced that Sheri had been abducted, the two staggered onto a nearby highway and flagged down a car for help.
    Johnny Dodd, People.com, 21 Dec. 2024
  • The collapse of the Assad Regime in Syria is the latest in a series of political and military defeats that have staggered the Kremlin.
    Daniel Markind, Forbes, 20 Dec. 2024
Definition of staggered
Verb
  • English speakers, despite their greater familiarity with the odors, faltered.
    Manvir Singh, The New Yorker, 23 Dec. 2024
  • Long the top-selling Chinese carmaker in Europe, the once-British sportscar brand has faltered recently, logging a 58% drop in registrations last month from a year earlier, based on data provided by Jato Dynamics, another research firm.
    Kristine Gill, Fortune Asia, 23 Dec. 2024
Definition of faltered
Verb
  • Richard Arnold, the chief executive whose departure had already been announced, went round the room and shook everyone’s hand, expressing his belief the future at United would be bright.
    Adam Crafton, The Athletic, 23 Dec. 2024
  • The camera then cut to Johansson, who shook her head while grimacing.
    Toria Sheffield, People.com, 22 Dec. 2024
Definition of shook
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.

Thesaurus Entries Near tottered

totter

tottered

tottering

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Tottered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tottered. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

More from Merriam-Webster on tottered

Nglish: Translation of tottered for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of tottered for Arabic Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See All

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Using Bullet Points ( • )

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

More Commonly Misspelled Words
See All

Popular in Wordplay

See All

Top 12 Sophisticated Compliments

Word of the Year 2024 | Polarization

Terroir, Oenophile, & Magnum: Ten Words About Wine

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)
See All

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
white rubber duck stands out in a row of yellow ducks
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.