Stagger — Defs

01 v. i. To move to one side and the other, as if about to fall, in standing or walking; not to stand or walk with steadiness; to sway; to reel or totter.

imp. & p. p. Staggered; p. pr. & vb. n. Staggering

1.
To move to one side and the other, as if about to fall, in standing or walking; not to stand or walk with steadiness; to sway; to reel or totter.
“Deep was the wound; he staggered with the blow.” — Dryden.
2.
To cease to stand firm; to begin to give way; to fail.
3.
To begin to doubt and waver in purpose; to become less confident or determined; to hesitate.
“He [Abraham] staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief.” — Rom. iv. 20.

02 v. t. To cause to reel or totter.

1.
To cause to reel or totter.
“That hand shall burn in never-quenching fire That staggers thus my person.” — Shak.
2.
To cause to doubt and waver; to make to hesitate; to make less steady or confident; to shock.
“Whosoever will read the story of this war will find himself much staggered.” — Howell.

“Grants to the house of Russell were so enormous, as not only to outrage economy, but even to stagger credibility.” — Burke.
3.
To arrange (a series of parts) on each side of a median line alternately, as the spokes of a wheel or the rivets of a boiler seam.

03 n. An unsteady movement of the body in walking or standing, as if one were about to fall; a reeling motion; vertigo; -- often in the plural; a…

1.
An unsteady movement of the body in walking or standing, as if one were about to fall; a reeling motion; vertigo; -- often in the plural; as, the stagger of a drunken man.
2.
A disease of horses and other animals, attended by reeling, unsteady gait or sudden falling; as, parasitic staggers; apopletic or sleepy staggers.(Far.)
3.
Bewilderment; perplexity.[R.]

Phrases & compounds

Stomach staggers — distention of the stomach with food or gas, resulting in indigestion, frequently in death.