to falter or begin to give way, as in an argument or fight.
3.
to waver or begin to doubt, as in purpose or opinion; hesitate: After staggering momentarily, he recognized that he had to make a decision.
–verb (used with object)
4.
to cause to reel, totter, or become unsteady: This load would stagger an elephant.
5.
to shock; render helpless with amazement or the like; astonish: The vastness of outer space staggers the mind.
6.
to cause to waver or falter: The news staggered her belief in the triumph of justice.
7.
to arrange in a zigzag order or manner on either side of a center: The captain staggered the troops along the road.
8.
to arrange otherwise than at the same time, esp. in a series of alternating or continually overlapping intervals: They planned to stagger lunch hours so that the cafeteria would not be rushed.
9.
Aeronautics. to arrange (the wings of a biplane or the like) so that the entering edge of an upper wing is either in advance of or behind that of a corresponding lower wing.
–noun
10.
the act of staggering; a reeling or tottering movement or motion.
11.
a staggered order or arrangement.
12.
Aeronautics.
a.
a staggered arrangement of wings.
b.
the amount of staggering.
13.
staggers. (used with a singular verb) Veterinary Pathology.
a.
Also called blind staggers.acute selenium poisoning of livestock characterized by a staggering gait usually followed by respiratory failure and death.
b.
a condition of unknown cause, occurring in pregnant sheep, cattle, and other animals during or just following extended transport, characterized by a staggering gait and progressive paralysis.
Origin: 1520–30; earlier stacker to reel, ME stakeren < ON stakra to reel, equiv. to stak(a) to stagger + -ra freq. suffix
Related forms:
stag⋅ger⋅er, noun
Synonyms: 1.Stagger,reel,totter suggest an unsteady manner of walking. To stagger is successively to lose and regain one's equilibrium and the ability to maintain one's direction: to stagger with exhaustion, a heavy load, or intoxication. To reel is to sway dizzily and be in imminent danger of falling: to reel when faint with hunger. To totter is to move in a shaky, uncertain, faltering manner and suggests the immediate likelihood of falling from weakness or feebleness: An old man tottered along with a cane. 3.vacillate. 5.astound, confound, dumfound. 7.alternate.
stag·ger (stāg'ər) v.
stag·gered, stag·ger·ing, stag·gers
v.
intr.
To move or stand unsteadily, as if under a great weight; totter.
To begin to lose confidence or strength of purpose; waver.
v.
tr.
To cause to totter, sway, or reel: The blow staggered him.
To overwhelm with emotion or astonishment.
To cause to waver or lose confidence.
To place on or as if on alternating sides of a center line; set in a zigzag row or rows: theater seats that were staggered for clear viewing.
To arrange in alternating or overlapping time periods: staggered the nurses' shifts.
To arrange (the wings of a biplane) so that the leading edge of one wing is either ahead of or behind the leading edge of the other wing.
Sports To arrange (the start of a race) with the starting point in the outside lanes progressively closer to the finish line so as to neutralize the advantage of competing in the shorter inside lanes.
n.
A tottering, swaying, or reeling motion.
A staggered pattern, arrangement, or order.
staggers(used with a sing. verb) Any of various diseases of the nervous system in animals, especially horses, cattle, or other domestic animals, characterized by a lack of coordination in moving, a staggering gait, and frequent falling. Also called blind staggers.
[Alteration of Middle English stakeren, from Old Norse stakra, frequentative of staka, to push.] stag'ger·er n., stag'ger·y adj.
[stag-er] 
) Veterinary Pathology.