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