# stagger

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈstæɡə/ · frequency rank #36,347

## Definitions
1. An unsteady movement of the body in walking or standing as if one were about to fall; a reeling motion.
2. A disease of horses and other animals, attended by reeling, unsteady gait or sudden falling.
3. Bewilderment; perplexity.
4. The spacing out of various actions over time.
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. The horizontal positioning of a biplane, triplane, or multiplane's wings in relation to one another.

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

## Easily confused with
- **starter** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stagger-vs-starter)
- **stalker** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stagger-vs-stalker)
- **swagger** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stagger-vs-swagger)
- **stinger** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stagger-vs-stinger)
- **stranger** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stagger-vs-stranger)
- **staggered** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stagger-vs-staggered)
- **stage** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stage-vs-stagger)
- **stages** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stages-vs-stagger)
- **staged** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/staged-vs-stagger)
- **sanger** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sanger-vs-stagger)
- **Seager** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/seager-vs-stagger)
- **staffer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/staffer-vs-stagger)
- **slugger** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/slugger-vs-stagger)

## Common misspellings (9)
`satgger`, `sstagger`, `stagegr`, `stager`, `staggerr`, `staggre`, `stgager`, `sttagger`, `tsagger`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/stagger