v. & n.
--v.intr.
1. lack or lose compactness or tidiness.
2 be or become dispersed or sporadic.
3 trail behind others in a march or race etc.
4 (of a plant, beard, etc.) grow long and loose.
--n. a body or group of straggling or scattered persons or things.
Derivatives:
straggler n. straggly adj. (stragglier, straggliest).
Etymology: ME, perh. rel. to dial. strake go, rel. to STRETCH