straggle C2+ Topic:Verbs of Movement US /ˈstræɡəl/ UK /ˈstræɡəl/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 verb to move or spread out in a scattered, irregular way The tired hikers began to straggle far behind the leader. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 verb · to move or spread out in a... trailscatterwanderstraydisperselagramble ↔ Opposites clustergatherbunchconverge Word family Derived forms stragglerstraggly Etymology AI details Late Middle English, of uncertain origin; perhaps a frequentative related to dialectal 'strake', to roam, or a variant of 'stretch'. Topics Verbs of Movement External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # straggle **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** verb **IPA (US):** /ˈstræɡəl/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈstræɡəl/ ## Meanings 1. to move or spread out in a scattered, irregular way ## Examples - The tired hikers began to straggle far behind the leader. ## Synonyms - trail - scatter - wander - stray - disperse - lag - ramble ## Antonyms - cluster - gather - bunch - converge ## Derived Forms - straggler - straggly ## Etymology Late Middle English, of uncertain origin; perhaps a frequentative related to dialectal 'strake', to roam, or a variant of 'stretch'. ## AI Etymology Straggle is a late Middle English, of uncertain origin; perhaps a frequentative related to dialectal 'strake', to roam, or a variant of 'stretch'. The wording preserves that uncertainty: the older history is best read as a cautious account rather than a fully settled chain. The modern sense continues the older lexical line without requiring a separate origin. In current use it covers to move or spread out in a scattered, irregular way. The wider family includes derived forms such as straggler and straggly. ## Topics - Verbs of Movement markdown