teeter
teeter
Definition
tee·ter (tēt′ər)
intransitive verb
to totter, wobble, waver, etc.
Etymology: dial. titter < ME titeren < ON titra, to tremble, akin to Ger zittern < redupl. of IE base *drā-, to step > trap, trip
transitive verb
to cause to teeter
noun
teeter
Synonyms
teeter
v.
teeter
Usage Examples
Object
- pile: There's my study that is stacked high with teetering piles of children's books.
- boulder: A climb up bedrock about five foot high with very large and 1 medium teetering boulders, resting on the edge.
Preposition: on
- brink: Hundreds of years ago, the country teetered on the brink of a change in power.
- verge: In the 21st century, the city of Freeport teeters on the verge of collapse.
- edge: He liked to teeter on the edge, He's supposed to stay behind the hedge.
- precipice: A year later his lackluster team teetered on the precipice of Division Three.
- top: It teeters on top of the unstable tower, threatening to drop onto the base.
- side: Teetering on the tacky side, this theme bar would be more at home in Disneyland than in the deep south.
Preposition: at
- edge: Prudence, who at 29 is teetering at the edge of spinsterhood, is an attractive, educated working girl.
Adjective complement
- close: Paul does his best to look after his mother and his brother, but Mel is teetering pretty close to the edge.
Modifying Another Word
- precariously: Unfortunately its contents, like its packaging, teeter precariously over the abyss of the merely decorative.
- just: With shadows now tending to infinity, the sun teetered just above the horizon as the train worked slowly round the curve.
- now: But all over the world constitutional democracies are now teetering on a 50:50 basis.
- already: Even before the foot and mouth outbreak, thousands of small farmers were already teetering on the verge of bankruptcy.
- constantly: In fact the only problem both films suffer from is that they are constantly teetering on the cusp of disappearing up their own backside.
- occasionally: Only when the vocals of Peter Simpson peep out, gratuitously stoked with echo, does the edifice occasionally teeter.
Followed by an intransitive particle
- out: At night we teetered out with buckets, Rushed the water down the slide's length In one black stain.
- over: Put them on and teeter over to her spot in the playground and make her feel over-done.
- around: There's us teetering around on severely shortened lengths of flaky drainpipe.
Followed by a transitive particle
- down: I sipped a latte and watched the mail truck teeter down the hill and safely away.
Browse dictionary entries near teeter
- Tees
- teepee
- teeny-weeny
- teeny-bopper
- teeny
- teens
- teenager
- teenage
- -teen
- teen
- teeter-totter
- teeterboard
- teeth
- teethe
- teething ring
- teethridge
- teetotal
- teetotaler
- teetotalism
- teetotum
