1
as in to falter
to swing unsteadily back and forth or from side to side
he nervously teetered at the edge of the pool before finally diving in
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in to stagger
to move forward while swaying from side to side
the toddler teetered down the rink in her new ice skates
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in to hesitate
to show uncertainty about the right course of action
was teetering on the brink of making a decision about college
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of teeter
Well, Christie helped galvanize a locker room, bringing a group together that was teetering on collapse.
—
Evan Sidery, Forbes, 20 Jan. 2025
In a country where baseball is far and away the most popular sport, football/soccer has always teetered on the edge of obscurity.
—Felipe Cardenas, The Athletic, 16 Jan. 2025
People have grown accustomed to the club languishing in the lower half, so slipping behind an Everton side that has teetered on the brink of implosion for much of the season barely registers.
—Laurie Whitwell, The Athletic, 16 Feb. 2025
The indictment describes an enterprise constantly teetering on the edge of failure as the Beckmans allegedly solicited and obtained investments via false financial documents that dramatically overstated company sales, profit and bank balances.
—Ethan Baron, The Mercury News, 24 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for teeter
Evan Sidery, Forbes, 20 Jan. 2025
In a country where baseball is far and away the most popular sport, football/soccer has always teetered on the edge of obscurity.
—Felipe Cardenas, The Athletic, 16 Jan. 2025
People have grown accustomed to the club languishing in the lower half, so slipping behind an Everton side that has teetered on the brink of implosion for much of the season barely registers.
—Laurie Whitwell, The Athletic, 16 Feb. 2025
The indictment describes an enterprise constantly teetering on the edge of failure as the Beckmans allegedly solicited and obtained investments via false financial documents that dramatically overstated company sales, profit and bank balances.
—Ethan Baron, The Mercury News, 24 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for teeter
Recent Examples of Synonyms for teeter
Verb
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The ability to navigate workforce reductions while continuing to invest in leadership development will distinguish thriving organizations from those that falter in the coming years.—
Jason Wingard,
Forbes,
28 Feb. 2025
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However, after transitioning to WWE's main roster, Black's momentum faltered, and he was ultimately released in 2021.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
28 Feb. 2025
Verb
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The chairman’s four-year term is intentionally staggered against the president’s term so that a single chairman advises two presidents.—
Dwight Stirling,
The Conversation,
4 Mar. 2025
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He was staggered during a 10-game losing streak that saw the Bears fire offensive coordinator Shane Waldron in Week 11 and then launch head coach Matt Eberflus 17 days later.—
Dan Wiederer,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Feb. 2025
Verb
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If someone pops up out of the blue, don’t hesitate to connect with them.—
Lisa Stardust,
Vogue,
26 Feb. 2025
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By removing cost as an initial hurdle, companies can cast a wider net, reaching customers who might otherwise hesitate to make a purchase.—
Alexander Puutio,
Forbes,
26 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Even as Nvidia is raking in revenue and Big Tech is powering ahead with capex, confidence in the U.S. economy seems to be wobbling slightly.—
Yeo Boon Ping,
CNBC,
27 Feb. 2025
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Early into the second half, as Liverpool began to wobble, Marshall Munetsi, making his Premier League debut for Wolves as a second-half substitute, was slipped clear with a pass behind the home defence.—
Gregg Evans,
The Athletic,
16 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Onlookers often see a chaotic show—politicians exploiting controversy, celebrities minting obscure tokens, and a sector seemingly lurching from one scandal to the next.—
Matt Robison,
Newsweek,
25 Feb. 2025
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With American soldiers still fighting in the Pacific theater, my father joined a war bond tour, lurching around the United States with some of the flag-raising soldiers to drum up financial support for what turned out to be the waning days of World War II.—
Hannah Beech,
New York Times,
23 Feb. 2025
Verb
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In Poland, the capricious degrees and forms of oppression, reflecting Stalin’s murderous personality, fostered a vacillating, self-deceptive kind of surrender by the captive mind, imprisoned not by bars or walls but by its own failures of conviction.—
Robert Pinsky,
The New Yorker,
30 Jan. 2025
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Yet all three novelists also refuse to narrate key moments of violence from the mind of a vacillating protagonist.—
Max Chapnick,
The Conversation,
16 Jan. 2025
Verb
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There were towering Great Danes, tiny, trembling Chihuahuas, and every shape of fluff in between.—
Savannah White,
Glamour,
18 Feb. 2025
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The ground would tremble now as a 110-ton launcher closure door opens and the engine ignites.—
Alfredo Sosa,
The Christian Science Monitor,
14 Feb. 2025
Verb
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If the bottom falls out of, say, the Chinese real-estate market—among the largest asset classes in the world—the entire global economy could totter.—
Gideon Lewis-Kraus,
The New Yorker,
24 Feb. 2025
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The suspect, age 34, tottered out from a rear holding area in an orange DOC jumpsuit that was a size or two too large for his reed-thin frame.—
Graham Rayman,
New York Daily News,
12 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Teeter.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/teeter. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
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