teeter (redirected from teetered on the brink)

tee·ter  (ttr)

v. tee·tered, tee·ter·ing, tee·ters

v.intr.

1. To walk or move unsteadily or unsurely; totter.

2. To alternate, as between opposing attitudes or positions; vacillate.

3. To seesaw.

v.tr.

To cause to teeter or seesaw.

n. Northeastern U.S.

1. See seesaw. See Regional Note at teeter-totter.

2. A teetering motion.

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[Middle English titeren, probably from Old Norse titra, to shake.]

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teeter [ˈtiːtə]

vb

to move or cause to move unsteadily; wobble

n & vb

another word for seesaw

[from Middle English titeren, related to Old Norse titra to tremble, Old High German zittarōn to shiver]

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	teeter - a plaything consisting of a board balanced on a fulcrum; the board is ridden up and down by children at either end dandle board, seesaw, teeter-totter, teeterboard, teetertotter, tilting board playground - yard consisting of an outdoor area for children's play plaything, toy - an artifact designed to be played with
Verb	1.	teeter - move unsteadily, with a rocking motion seesaw, totter move - move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion; "He moved his hand slightly to the right"

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teeter

verb

1. wobble, rock, totter, balance, stagger, sway, tremble, waver, pivot, seesaw He watched the cup teeter on the edge before it fell.

2. waver, wobble, seesaw, veer They are teetering on the edge of bankruptcy.

Translations

teeter [ˈtiːtəʳ] VI → bambolearse, tambalearse (fig) → vacilar, titubear
to teeter on the edge of a nervous breakdown → estar al borde de un ataque nervioso

teeter [ˈtiːtə^r] vi

(= be unsteady) [person, object] → vaciller

to teeter on the brink of sth, to teeter on the edge of sth (ruin, civil war, disaster) → être au bord de qch
teeter totter n (US) jeu de bascule

teeter

vi

(= balance unsteadily) → taumeln, schwanken; to teeter on the brink or edge of something (lit) → am Rand von etw taumeln; (fig) → am Rand von etw sein

(US: = seesaw) → wippen, schaukeln

teeter [ˈtiːtəʳ] vi → barcollare, vacillare
to teeter on the edge or brink of → vacillare sull'orlo di