straggle
strag·gle/ˈstɹæɡl̩/verb, noun
straggle is spelled S-T-R-A-G-G-L-E: 8 letters and 2 syllables (strag·gle). It appears about once in every 36 million words in written English, the 184,844th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, straggle means “To stray, rove, or wander from a normal course and others of its kind” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in straggle?
| Letters | 8: S-T-R-A-G-G-L-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: strag·gle |
| In writing | about once in every 36 million words; the 184,844th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is straggle?
Straggle appears about once in every 36 million words in written English, the 184,844th 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 straggle?
- /ˈstɹæɡl̩/
Straggle has 2 syllables, split strag·gle in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-straggle.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of straggle
- straggles present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- straggling participle, present
- straggled participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does straggle mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To stray, rove, or wander from a normal course and others of its kind.
He straggled away from the crowd and went off on his own.
- 2
To act in a disorderly and irregular way.
- 3
Grow or hang messily.
The roses had been allowed to straggle across the path.
- 4
To move along slowly so as to remain some distance behind the person or people in front.
noun
- 1
An irregular, spread-out group.
- 2
An outlier; something that has strayed beyond the normal limits.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Straggle in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | abweichen, abschweifen , umherwandern, herumwandern, wandern, herumstreifen |
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 straggle come from?
From Middle English straglen, of uncertain origin, possibly from (or cognate to) dialectal Norwegian stragla (“to walk laboriously”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).