stagger

Word family

Related topics: Sport

stag·ger1 /ˈstæɡə $ -ər/ verb

1 [intransitiveI always + adverbadv/prepositionprep]WALK to walk or move unsteadily, almost falling over 蹒跚；摇摇晃晃地走 SYN stumble

He managed to stagger home.

他好不容易才蹒跚着走回家。

She staggered back a step.

她踉跄着后退了一步。

The old man staggered drunkenly to his feet.

老汉醉醺醺地踉跄着站了起来。

► see thesaurus at walk

2 SHOCK[transitiveT] to make someone feel very surprised or shocked 使〔某人〕惊愕[震惊] SYN amaze

What staggered us was the sheer size of her salary.

令我们感到惊愕的是她的薪水之高。

3 [intransitiveI] (also stagger on)DS to continue doing something when you seem to be going to fail and you do not know what will happen 〔在看来要失败或不知道结果的情况下〕硬撑，继续

He staggered on for another two years.

他又硬撑了两年。

stagger from something to something

The company staggered from one crisis to the next.

这家公司在一次又一次的危机中举步维艰。

4 [transitiveT]SPREAD to arrange people’s working hours, holidays etc so that they do not all begin and end at the same time 错开〔工作时间、假期等〕

Jim and his wife stagger their work hours so one of them can be at home with the kids.

吉姆和妻子把工作时间错开，以便两个人中总有一个可以在家照料孩子。

5. [transitiveT] to start a race with each runner at a different place on a curved track 使采用梯形起跑〔指环形跑道上运动员在不同的位置起跑〕

Examples from the Corpus

stagger• Something hit me on the head, and I staggered across the room.• I staggered across to the washbasins.• Cardiff staggered and almost fell back against Barbara.• We were all staggered by the news of her death.• My father was staggering under the weight of a huge parcel.

stagger from something to something• The company might stagger from crisis to crisis.• The economy continued to stagger from crisis to crisis.

stagger2 noun [countableC usually singular]

WALKan unsteady movement of someone who is having difficulty in walking 蹒跚；摇晃不稳的脚步

Examples from the Corpus

stagger• At Twentieth and Larimer he saw some men with a stagger in their gait.• But leaving no trace on the breath, never impairing speech or inducing a slight stagger, faro had escaped her view.• What is not readily appreciated by the newcomer is the stagger of the line lengths.• At a slightly uneven stagger the coffin set off down the aisle.

From Longman Business Dictionary

staggerstag·ger /ˈstægə-ər/ verb [transitiveT]

1HUMAN RESOURCESto arrange people’s working hours, holidays etc so that they do not all begin and end at the same time

The meetings are staggered throughout the day to give shift workers the opportunity to attend.

More could be done to encourage staggered working hours.

2FINANCEto arrange a series of payments, deliveries etc so that they do not all happen at the same time

The loan repayments were staggered over a long period.

The remaining aircraft will be delivered on a staggered basis by the year 2025.

Origin stagger1