totter

verb [I]

/ˈtɒt.ər/

/ˈtɑː.t̬ɚ/

Definition

› to walk with difficulty in a way that looks as if you are about to fall: She tottered unsteadily down the stairs in her high-heeled shoes. → Compare stagger verb, teeterMoving unsteadily or with difficulty › to shake and move from side to side: Several tall piles of books tottered and fell.Shaking, swinging and vibratingMoving unsteadily or with difficulty › (of a company, government, etc.) to become weaker and less likely to carry on existing: The industry has tottered from crisis to crisis now for two years.Becoming and making less strong tottering

/-ɪŋ/ adjective › She walked slowly with tottering steps. It was the last decision of a tottering government.Moving unsteadily or with difficulty tottery

/-i/ adjective › a tottery old manWeakness and vulnerability

(Definition of totter verb from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

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