straggle
/ˈstɹæɡl̩/
"straggle" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“straggle” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To stray, rove, or wander from a normal course and others of its kind.
Corpus desk
Index EN-straggle · straggle · English
straggle · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "S" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | straggle |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˈstɹæɡl̩/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “straggle” in English
Rare enough to double-check
straggle is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed /ˈstɹæɡl̩/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
No misspelling variants are generated for straggle in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. Our dataset records no confusable match here, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English straglen, of uncertain origin, possibly from (or cognate to) dialectal Norwegian stragla (“to walk laboriously”). The correct English form is straggle, spelled S-T-R-A-G-G-L-E.
Definition
- 1To stray, rove, or wander from a normal course and others of its kind.
- 2To act in a disorderly and irregular way.
- 3To move along slowly so as to remain some distance behind the person or people in front.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how straggle appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
He straggled away from the crowd and went off on his own.
What, feareful coward, ſtragling from the camp, When Kings themſelues are preſent in the field?
Etymology
From Middle English straglen, of uncertain origin, possibly from (or cognate to) dialectal Norwegian stragla (“to walk laboriously”).
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.