From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishstaggerstag‧ger1 /ˈstæɡə $ -ər/ ●●○ verb 1 [intransitive always + adverb/preposition]WALK to walk or move unsteadily, almost falling over SYN stumble He managed to stagger home. She staggered back a step. The old man staggered drunkenly to his feet.► see thesaurus at walk2 SHOCK[transitive] to make someone feel very surprised or shocked SYN amaze What staggered us was the sheer size of her salary.3 [intransitive] (also stagger on)DS to continue doing something when you seem to be going to fail and you do not know what will happen He staggered on for another two years.stagger from something to something The company staggered from one crisis to the next.4 [transitive]SPREAD to arrange people’s working hours, holidays etc so that they do not all begin and end at the same time Jim and his wife stagger their work hours so one of them can be at home with the kids.5 [transitive] to start a race with each runner at a different place on a curved track→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
stagger• Something hit me on the head, and I staggered across the room.• I staggered across to the washbasins.• Cardiff staggered and almost fell back against Barbara.• We were all staggered by the news of her death.• My father was staggering under the weight of a huge parcel.stagger from something to something• The company might stagger from crisis to crisis.• The economy continued to stagger from crisis to crisis.staggerstagger2 noun [countable usually singular] WALKan unsteady movement of someone who is having difficulty in walkingExamples from the Corpus
stagger• At Twentieth and Larimer he saw some men with a stagger in their gait.• But leaving no trace on the breath, never impairing speech or inducing a slight stagger, faro had escaped her view.• What is not readily appreciated by the newcomer is the stagger of the line lengths.• At a slightly uneven stagger the coffin set off down the aisle.From Longman Business Dictionarystaggerstag‧ger /ˈstægə-ər/ verb [transitive]1HUMAN RESOURCESto arrange people’s working hours, holidays etc so that they do not all begin and end at the same timeThe meetings are staggered throughout the day to give shift workers the opportunity to attend.More could be done to encourage staggered working hours.2FINANCEto arrange a series of payments, deliveries etc so that they do not all happen at the same timeThe loan repayments were staggered over a long period.The remaining aircraft will be delivered on a staggered basis by the year 2025.→ See Verb tableOrigin stagger1 (1500-1600) stacker “to stagger” ((13-19 centuries)), from Old Norse stakra, from staka “to push” 