Webster's English Dictionary

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stagger

1. stag.ger \'stag-*r\ \-(*-)rin\ \-*r-*r\ vb or stag.ger.ing [alter. of 
   earlier stacker, fr. ME stakeren, fr. ON stakra, f]req. of staka to push; 
   akin to OE staca stake 1a: to reel from side to side : TOTTER  1b: to move 
   on unsteadily  2: to rock violently : SHAKE {the ship ~ed}  3: to waver in 
   purpose or action : HESITATE  1: to cause to doubt or hesitate : PERPLEX  
   2: to cause to reel or totter  3: to arrange in any of various zigzags, 
   alternations, or overlappings of  position or time {~ work shifts ~ teeth 
   on a cutter} 4: to adjust (as the wings of a biplane) so that the leading 
   edge of one w ing projects beyond the leading edge of another wing - 
   stag.ger.er n
2. stagger n pl but sing or pl in constr  1: an abnormal condition of 
   domestic mammals and birds associated with dama ge to the central nervous 
   system and marked by incoordination and a reeling unsteady gait 2: a 
   reeling or unsteady gait or stance  3: the amount by which the leading edge 
   of an upper wing of a biplane is ad vanced over that of a lower expressed 
   as percentage of gap
3. stagger aj : marked by an alternating or overlapping arrangement