From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishtottertot‧ter /ˈtɒtə $ ˈtɑːtər/ verb [intransitive] 1 BALANCE#to walk or move unsteadily from side to side as if you are going to fall over Lorrimer swayed a little, tottered, and fell.2 FAILif a political system or organization totters, it becomes less strong and is likely to stop working→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
totter• On the way to school a wino totters.• There was something mad about her refusal to rest, and she felt it as she tottered about getting Clarice dressed.• I saw Slim tottering along and joined him.• Poor Maud can only totter along at this rate.• She tottered, and put her arms out.• Now he gapes at the cup and saucer, tottering at the end of his extended arm.• He tottered drunkenly to his feet and reached inside his jacket.• She tottered into the room in red high-heeled shoes.• The country's welfare system is tottering toward collapse.Origin totter (1200-1300) Perhaps from a Scandinavian language 