I. verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
about
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Even while they are staggering about , fluttering and floundering, these mock-disabled birds are fully aware of everything around them.
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Parkgoers draw perverse amusement from watching its victims stagger about in a state of vertiginous disorientation, after just one ride.
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Luke was staggering about , aided by everyone, and Helen was in her pram.
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The funeral was over, and Selene grew, soon staggering about on fat legs.
around
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He staggers around the stage in half darkness, apparently playing only for himself; a guitar hero without any self-congratulatory heroics.
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She had seen it staggering around on uncertain legs a few mornings before.
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Horrified witnesses watched helplessly as the blazing man staggered around the square before collapsing.
back
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Sonny went staggering back , arms flailing, spitting blood and fragments of teeth.
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He actually got up and staggered back to his jungle lair somewhere in darkest Soho when nobody was looking.
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Cleo staggered back from the loving assault being bestowed upon her by the two larger animals.
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We staggered back to the shack and went to sleep.
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Nevertheless, the stringent regimen that was normality for many - even in a lavish burg - was staggering back towards normal.
backwards
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A flailing chimera of camera crews, photographers and reporters staggers backwards down some city high street.
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Suddenly Dad uttered a sharp cry and staggered backwards , slumping against the wall.
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The captain staggered backwards , tripped over the dropped gun and fell on to the sidewalk.
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With a gasp Chantal staggered backwards , reaching for the chair back to steady herself.
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Her blow connected, and Ma Katz staggered backwards , blade scraping the flower-pattern wallpaper.
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The fist's owner became visible, staggering backwards , clutching the wounded article and uttering cuss words.
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Gunfire rattled against his pectoral shields, and he staggered backwards from the blast.
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The recoil was unexpected and he staggered backwards as Cardiff reached him, not knowing whether he had hit it or not.
down
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He picked himself up and staggered down a corridor.
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Then Vernage noticed Sergeant King staggering down the road in a desperate bid to flag down a car.
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A minute later Sid staggered down the steps with the fish still in the roll of lino.
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I was shaking so much that I had to lift the kettle with two hands when I staggered down the yard.
off
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Then he staggered off the pavement into the street, throwing a glance down towards the brighter lights at the junction.
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She staggers off though she is nowhere near as afraid as I believe she should be.
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She struggled to her feet, her only thought to avoid discovery, and staggered off into the darkness.
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A minute later, she got up, dazed, and staggered off the stage.
on
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Pushing himself up, he staggered on , feeling angry and desperate inside.
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The numbers are staggering on so many fronts.
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Outworn institutions were to stagger on until, in some cases, the outworn machines and sluices which they maintained also collapsed.
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That loony leftover of a nation surely won't stagger on much longer-and anyway it's suspended its missile programme.
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The all-enveloping darkness made her progress difficult but in her emotional state she staggered on .
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A diminished Slobodan Milosevic may stagger on for a while.
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He went on ahead while Willie staggered on after him.
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In good faith, mind bulging with information, the reader staggers on .
out
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Had it been any night other than Wednesday, he would have staggered out .
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Jim put his arms around me and I staggered out into the night, which smelled so good.
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Characters staggering out from between the pages on the Day of Judgment, brushing earth from their lips.
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Laughing to herself, she staggered out of the room and went down the corridor to the cell where Hicks was sleeping.
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Gasping at the weight, she staggered out to the dustbin with the jam jars.
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Do you wait around with a gun in your hand to shoot me down when I finally stagger out ?
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At last a lone figure staggered out , singing raucously as he swaggered in a drunken stupor.
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Little Jane, set down by Dorothy, staggered out to join the others.
over
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Delaney staggered over , half falling into the vacated chair.
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They staggered over and embraced me.
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Many of the tables were screened from one another, and staggered over different levels.
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Muriel'd staggered over and joined in.
■ NOUN
foot
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He staggered to his feet and ran from the cathedral.
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Mustering all her strength, Jinju staggered to her feet .
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The single four-barrel Holley carb can gulp down a staggering 750 cubic feet of air every minute at full throttle.
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Liessa hurried across the grass and helped Hrun stagger to his feet .
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Maltote staggered to his feet and went down to relieve himself in the necessary house.
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But I knew I could manage to stagger to my feet and find fresh kindling.
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Stunned, she staggered to her feet .
weight
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Two strong young foresters appeared at the drawing-room door with it and even they staggered a little under its weight .
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Then, staggering under the weight , she carried her suitcases into the waiting room and sat down beside Ollie.
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He flung himself on her and she staggered under his weight .
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When the country is already staggering under the weight of consumer debt.
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Almost at once she was back again staggering under the weight of an enormous round chocolate cake on a china platter.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
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My father was staggering under the weight of a huge parcel.
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Something hit me on the head, and I staggered across the room.
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We were all staggered by the news of her death.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
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Cardiff staggered and almost fell back against Barbara.
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I staggered across to the washbasins.
II. noun
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
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At a slightly uneven stagger the coffin set off down the aisle.
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At Twentieth and Larimer he saw some men with a stagger in their gait.
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But leaving no trace on the breath, never impairing speech or inducing a slight stagger , faro had escaped her view.
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What is not readily appreciated by the newcomer is the stagger of the line lengths.