totter

verb

ˈtä-tər How to pronounce totter (audio)
Definition of totternext
1
as in to stagger
to move forward while swaying from side to side tottered around the house as she practiced walking in high heels

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in to falter
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

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of totter Now, even that tiny effort is tottering. — Mark Z. Barabak, Mercury News, 27 Jan. 2026 Women often totter along a delicate line between beauty and torture, femininity and the bondage of expectation. — Jane Wooldridge, Miami Herald, 7 Dec. 2025 But The Gilded Age doesn’t do pure villains with its main cast, and Oscar totters between failson and tragic figure, the closeted heir of the Van Rhijn family dragged to hell and back after being defrauded of his mother’s fortune. — Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 1 Dec. 2025 On the floor, waist-high piles of books tottered like miniature leaning towers of Pisa. — The Christian Science Monitor, Christian Science Monitor, 12 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for totter
Recent Examples of Synonyms for totter
  1. stagger
  2. falter
  3. lurch
  4. tremble
  5. shake
  6. wobble
Verb
  • As the deli’s surveillance video rolled, his client went from calmly standing at the counter with a bottle of Gatorade to staggering to the floor, clutching his leg and tearing at his pants.
    — Alison J. Stein, HubSpot, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Biden called for reforms, too, in his final year, recommending that the Court’s Justices be limited to eighteen-year terms, staggered so that Presidents could appoint one every two years.
    — Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of stagger
Verb
  • Wednesday’s ugly loss, in which Yoshinobu Yamamoto faltered after a strong start and the Dodgers crumbled late despite taking a 3-0 first-inning lead, was the latest example.
    — Joaquin Ruiz, Los Angeles Times, 3 Sep. 2026
  • This leadership vacuum raises serious questions about the agencies' ability to craft meaningful crypto rules, especially if the Senate's Clarity Act vote falters.
    — Cleve Mesidor, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of falter
Verb
  • The airplane lurched skyward, and Elwood was strapped in for the ride.
    — Rob Picheta, CNN Money, 30 Aug. 2026
  • Maresca, though, does not appear to have much taste for the Premier League’s lurch towards balls into the box.
    — Sam Lee, New York Times, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of lurch
Verb
  • Those afflicted would tremble and jerk around, lose the ability to stand or swallow, and, after many months of slow suffering, die.
    — David Remnick, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Back in their dorm room after the beating, Valentine watched as Okeadu began to tremble uncontrollably.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 30 June 2026
Definition of tremble
Verb
  • Beck didn’t participate in the book, but Riesman finds enough friends, family and associates to assemble a complex portrait of an artist who wants his audiences to see him as fashion-forward but has had a hard time shaking his past.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Thunderous applause may greet one documentary premiering at the Venice Film Festival, fitting for a story of athletes who shake the earth with every footfall.
    — Matthew Carey, Deadline, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of shake
Verb
  • Newcastle’s summer wobbled when news emerged in late June that Guimaraes was fixed on Arsenal.
    — George Caulkin, New York Times, 2 Sep. 2026
  • The ball wobbled, but Fields got underneath it for about a 40-yard catch.
    — Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of wobble

Browse Nearby Words

totted (up)
totter
tottered
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Totter.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/totter. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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