staggers

stag·ger  (stgr)

v. stag·gered, stag·ger·ing, stag·gers

v.intr.

1. To move or stand unsteadily, as if under a great weight; totter.

2. To begin to lose confidence or strength of purpose; waver.

v.tr.

1. To cause to totter, sway, or reel: The blow staggered him.

2.

a. To overwhelm with emotion or astonishment.

b. To cause to waver or lose confidence.

3. To place on or as if on alternating sides of a center line; set in a zigzag row or rows: theater seats that were staggered for clear viewing.

4. To arrange in alternating or overlapping time periods: staggered the nurses' shifts.

5. To arrange (the wings of a biplane) so that the leading edge of one wing is either ahead of or behind the leading edge of the other wing.

6. Sports To arrange (the start of a race) with the starting point in the outside lanes progressively closer to the finish line so as to neutralize the advantage of competing in the shorter inside lanes.

n.

1. A tottering, swaying, or reeling motion.

2. A staggered pattern, arrangement, or order.

3. staggers (used with a sing. verb) Any of various diseases of the nervous system in animals, especially horses, cattle, or other domestic animals, characterized by a lack of coordination in moving, a staggering gait, and frequent falling. Also called blind staggers.

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[Alteration of Middle English stakeren, from Old Norse stakra, frequentative of staka, to push.]

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stagger·er n.

stagger·y adj.

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staggers

Noun

a disease of horses and other domestic animals that causes staggering

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

staggers - a disease of the central nervous system affecting especially horses and cattle; characterized by an unsteady swaying gait and frequent falling blind staggers animal disease - a disease that typically does not affect human beings