TEETER


Meaning of TEETER in English

I. ˈtēd.ə(r), -ētə- verb

( -ed/-ing/-s )

Etymology: alteration of earlier titter, from Middle English titeren to totter, reel, sway; akin to Old High German zittarōn to shiver, shake, Old Norse titra to twinkle, shiver, Greek apodidraskein to run away, dramein to run, Sanskrit drāti he runs — more at dromedary

intransitive verb

1.

a. : to move unsteadily: as

(1) : to progress (as by walking) unsteadily

teetered across the half-finished bridge — Burgess Scott

(2) : to move unsteadily before or as if before falling : wobble

stood on chairs and teetered on stepladders — John Dos Passos

b.

(1) : to waver precariously : show signs of possible impending failure

for the next few days the attack would teeter from enemy counterattacks — Norman Mailer

— often used with on

is always teetering on the edge of catastrophe — Charles Hamblett

(2) : to oscillate unsteadily especially in a dangerous position

a passive type who teeters between conformity and revolt — R.N.Denney

2. : seesaw

took the little girl to the park so that she could teeter

transitive verb

: seesaw

teetered his chair and sighed — G.A.Chamberlain

II. noun

( -s )

1.

[so called from the teetering movements of its tail]

: spotted sandpiper

2. : an act of teetering

3. : seesaw 2b

4. : a transverse rolling or rocking in a spring suspension : undulation

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.