straggle

1 of 2

verb

strag·​gle ˈstra-gəl How to pronounce straggle (audio)
straggled; straggling ˈstra-g(ə-)liŋ How to pronounce straggle (audio)

intransitive verb

1
: to wander from the direct course or way : rove, stray
2
: to trail off from others of its kind
little cabins straggling off into the woods
straggler noun

straggle

2 of 2

noun

: a straggling group (as of persons or objects)

Examples of straggle in a Sentence

Verb The children straggled in from outside. People straggled off the train. She straggled behind the rest of the group. Branches straggled out and blocked the path.
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
As soon as the lights dimmed at the band’s United Center show, images of marine life, of straggling sea turtles, flickered across a balmy blue LED wall. M.t. Richards, Chicago Tribune, 30 Apr. 2023 Its wide-verging lanes wind between stone walls and flattish meadows to straggling villages like Shipton Moyne, whose modest church harbors a startlingly beautiful Elizabethan monument. Town & Country, 28 Apr. 2023 As pupils straggled in, the teachers offered a cheery hello or simply ignored them. Hisako Ueno, New York Times, 2 Mar. 2023 Then Paixão noticed him straggling behind the others, carrying a much lighter load, and dressed him down again. Larry Rohter, Smithsonian Magazine, 3 Apr. 2023 Cal and San Jose State have both leaned into collectives, but still are straggling behind powerhouse programs in their own conference as well as the SEC and the Big Ten. Ann Killion, San Francisco Chronicle, 12 Mar. 2023 Or force it to straggle along for 10 years? Michael Zakaras, Forbes, 26 May 2022 Lowe didn’t straggle far behind. Evan Grant, Dallas News, 28 June 2021 More scattered survivors continued to straggle in over the next several days. Jeremy Hsu, Discover Magazine, 9 Aug. 2015
Noun
Cloistered from civilization by a steep 900-foot climb over loose and jutting rock, the glade goes unseen by most everyone but a straggle of hikers on the Appalachian Trail, the 2,180-mile footpath carved into the roofs of 14 eastern states. Earl Swift, Outside Online, 2 Sep. 2015 The next spring the vine leafed out solidly and there, somewhere in the foliage, hung one thin straggle of purple flowers. Murr Brewster, The Christian Science Monitor, 6 June 2018

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'straggle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English straglen

First Known Use

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1865, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of straggle was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near straggle

Cite this Entry

“Straggle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/straggle. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

straggle

verb
strag·​gle
ˈstrag-əl
straggled; straggling
-(ə-)liŋ
1
: to wander from a course or way : rove, stray
2
: to trail off from others of its kind
little cabins straggling off into the woods
straggler
-(ə-)lər
noun
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!