verb
C2
Proficient
totter
Totter (verb) means to walk or stand in a shaky way, as if about to fall.
verb
1
To walk or stand in a shaky way, as if about to fall.
"The car tottered on the edge of the cliff."
"The old man tottered out of the pub into the street."
"The baby tottered from the table to the chair."
2
To be close to falling apart completely.
3
To collect scrap or discarded junk.
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Etymology
Came into English from Middle English totren, toteren, from an earlier *tolteren (compare dialectal English tolter (“to struggle, flounder”); Scots tolter (“unstable, wonky”)), which in turn came from Old English tealtrian (“to totter, vacillate”), from Proto-Germanic *taltrōną, a frequentative form of Proto-Germanic *taltōną (“to sway, dangle, hesitate”), from Proto-Indo-European *del-, *dul- (“to shake, hesitate”). It is cognate with Dutch touteren (“to tremble”), Norwegian dialectal totra (“to quiver, shake”), and North Frisian talt, tolt (“unstable, shaky”), and is related to tilt.
Related words
Rhymes for totter
See all rhymes for totter →Frequently asked questions
What is the meaning of totter?
"totter" (verb) means to walk or stand in a shaky way, as if about to fall.
What is another word for totter?
Other words for "totter" include seesaw, teeter, coggle, waddle, toddle, dodder.
What are the different meanings of totter?
"totter" has 3 main meanings: 1. To walk or stand in a shaky way, as if about to fall; 2. To be close to falling apart completely; 3. To collect scrap or discarded junk.
