teeter
verb /ˈtiːtə(r)/
/ˈtiːtər/
[intransitive]Verb Forms
Idioms | present simple I / you / we / they teeter | /ˈtiːtə(r)/ /ˈtiːtər/ |
| he / she / it teeters | /ˈtiːtəz/ /ˈtiːtərz/ |
| past simple teetered | /ˈtiːtəd/ /ˈtiːtərd/ |
| past participle teetered | /ˈtiːtəd/ /ˈtiːtərd/ |
| -ing form teetering | /ˈtiːtərɪŋ/ /ˈtiːtərɪŋ/ |
- to stand or move in an unsteady way so that you look as if you are going to fall
- She teetered after him in her high-heeled shoes.
- The car teetered on the edge of the cliff for a moment before plunging down.
- The girls teetered across the field.
Word Originmid 19th cent.: variant of dialect titter, from Old Norse titra ‘shake, shiver’.
Idioms
teeter on the brink/edge of something
- to be very close to a very unpleasant or dangerous situation
- The country is teetering on the brink of civil war.