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PlainSpell

stagger

stag·ger/ˈstæɡɚ/noun, verb

stagger is spelled S-T-A-G-G-E-R: 7 letters and 2 syllables (stag·ger). It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 36,176th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, stagger means “An unsteady movement of the body in walking or standing as if one were about to fall; a reeling motion” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of stagger is staggers.

How many letters and syllables are in stagger?

Letters7: S-T-A-G-G-E-R
Syllables2: stag·ger
In writingabout once in every 2 million words; the 36,176th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is stagger?

Stagger appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 36,176th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce stagger?

  • UK /ˈstæɡə/
  • US /ˈstæɡɚ/
  • /ˈsteɪ̯ɡɚ/

Stagger has 2 syllables, split stag·ger in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-stagger.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with stagger?

9 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as stagger from its last stressed vowel (/æɡəɹ/):

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of stagger

  • staggers plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • staggering participle, present
  • staggered participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does stagger mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    An unsteady movement of the body in walking or standing as if one were about to fall; a reeling motion.

    7 October 2012, Paolo Bandini in The Guardian, Denver Broncos 21 New England Patriots 31 - as it happened Put down the rosary beads folks, I believe hell may just have frozen over. Peyton Manning drops back, sees nothing open and runs for a

  2. 2

    A disease of horses and other animals, attended by reeling, unsteady gait or sudden falling.

    parasitic staggers

  3. 3

    Bewilderment; perplexity.

  4. 4

    The spacing out of various actions over time.

    19 April 2016, Rachel Roddy in The Guardian, Rachel Roddy’s Roman spring vegetable stew recipe I don’t include cured pork, although it is very nice, and rather than putting everything in the pan at once I prefer a stagger of ingredients, wh

  5. 5

    The difference in circumference between the left and right tires on a racing vehicle. It is used on oval tracks to make the car turn better in the corners.

  6. 6

    The horizontal positioning of a biplane, triplane, or multiplane's wings in relation to one another.

  7. 7

    UKOne who attends a stag night.

verb

  1. 1

    In standing or walking, to sway from one side to the other as if about to fall; to stand or walk unsteadily; to reel or totter.

    She began to stagger across the room.

  2. 2

    To cause to reel or totter.

    The powerful blow of his opponent's fist staggered the boxer.

  3. 3

    To cease to stand firm; to begin to give way; to fail.

  4. 4

    To begin to doubt and waver in purposes; to become less confident or determined; to hesitate.

  5. 5

    To cause to doubt and waver; to make to hesitate; to make less steady or confident; to shock.

    He will stagger the committee when he presents his report.

  6. 6

    To arrange (a series of parts) on each side of a median line alternately, as the spokes of a wheel or the rivets of a boiler seam.

  7. 7

    To arrange similar objects such that each is ahead or above and to one side of the next.

    We will stagger the starting positions for the race on the oval track.

  8. 8

    To schedule in intervals or at different times.

    We will stagger the run so the faster runners can go first, then the joggers.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Stagger in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchvaciller, tituber, chanceler, flageoler (an unsteady movement of the body in walking or…)
GermanSchwanken, Wanken (an unsteady movement of the body in walking or…), wackeln, wanken, taumeln (to move to one side and the other, as if about…), torkeln (to walk in an awkward, drunken fashion)
Portuguesecambaleante (an unsteady movement of the body in walking or…), cambalear (to move to one side and the other, as if about…), hesitar (to begin to doubt and waver in purposes)
Spanishtambaleo (an unsteady movement of the body in walking or…), tambalear, titubar, titubear (to move to one side and the other, as if about…), vacilar, herer (to begin to doubt and waver in purposes)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does stagger come from?

From Middle English stakeren, from Old Norse stakra (“to push, stagger”). Cognate with dialectal Danish stagre.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after stagger