Adjacent Words

Straggle definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

STRAGGLE, v.i. stragl. [This word seems to be formed on the root of stray. G., to pass, to migrate.]
1. To wander from the direct course or way; to rove. When troops are on the march, let not the men straggle.
2. To wander at large without an certain direction or object; to ramble.
The wolf spied a straggling kid.
3. To exuberate; to shoot too far in growth. Prune the straggling branches of the hedge.
4. To be dispersed; to be apart from any main body.
They came between Scylla and Charybdis and the straggling rocks.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a wandering or disorderly grouping (of things or persons); "a straggle of outbuildings"; "a straggle of followers" v
1: wander from a direct or straight course [syn: sidetrack, depart, digress, straggle]
2: go, come, or spread in a rambling or irregular way; "Branches straggling out quite far" [syn: sprawl, straggle]

Merriam Webster's

I. intransitive verb (straggled; straggling) Etymology: Middle English straglen Date: 15th century 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 II. noun Date: 1865 a straggling group (as of persons or objects)

Oxford Reference Dictionary

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

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Straggle Strag"gle, n. The act of straggling. [R.] --Carlyle.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Straggle Strag"gle, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Straggled; p. pr. & vb. n. Straggling.] [Freq. of OE. straken to roam, to stroke. See Stroke, v. t.] 1. To wander from the direct course or way; to rove; to stray; to wander from the line of march or desert the line of battle; as, when troops are on the march, the men should not straggle. --Dryden. 2. To wander at large; to roam idly about; to ramble. The wolf spied out a straggling kid. --L'Estrange. 3. To escape or stretch beyond proper limits, as the branches of a plant; to spread widely apart; to shoot too far or widely in growth. Trim off the small, superfluous branches on each side of the hedge that straggle too far out. --Mortimer. 4. To be dispersed or separated; to occur at intervals. ``Straggling pistol shots.'' --Sir W. Scott. They came between Scylla and Charybdis and the straggling rocks. --Sir W. Raleigh.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(straggles, straggling, straggled) 1. If people straggle somewhere, they move there slowly, in small groups with large, irregular gaps between them. They came straggling up the cliff road... VERB: V prep/adv 2. If a small quantity of things straggle over an area, they cover it in an uneven or untidy way. Her grey hair straggled in wisps about her face... They were beyond the last straggling suburbs now. VERB: V prep, V-ing

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. n. 1. Rove, wander. 2. Ramble, stroll, range, roam, wander, deviate, stray, rove, digress, gad about, go out of the way, go astray.

Moby Thesaurus

amble, barge, bat around, be lengthy, be prolonged, belong, bowl along, bum, bundle, clump, count ties, crane, dawdle, divagate, drag, drift, err, excurse, extend, extend out, fall behind, flit, flounce, foot, footslog, gad, gad about, gallivant, get behind, go about, go adrift, go astray, go the rounds, halt, hang back, hippety-hop, hit the road, hit the trail, hitch, hobble, hobo, hop, jaunt, jog, jolt, jump, knock about, knock around, lag, limp, linger, linger behind, loiter, lumber, lunge, lurch, maunder, meander, mince, mooch, mosey, nomadize, outreach, outstretch, pace, paddle, peg, peregrinate, pererrate, piaffe, piaffer, plod, prance, prowl, rack, ramble, range, reach out, roam, roll, rove, run about, sashay, saunter, scramble, scuff, scuffle, scuttle, shamble, shuffle, sidle, single-foot, skip, slink, slither, slog, slouch, snake, sprangle, sprawl, spread-eagle, stagger, stalk, stamp, stand on tiptoes, stomp, straddle, stray, stretch, stretch out, stride, stroll, strut, stump, swagger, swing, tittup, toddle, totter, trail, trail behind, traipse, tramp, trip, trudge, twist, twist and turn, vagabond, vagabondize, waddle, walk the tracks, wamble, wander, wayfare, wiggle, wind, wobble