teeter C2+ Topic:Verbs of Movement US /ˈtitɚ/ UK /ˈtiːtə/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 verb to move or balance unsteadily; to waver The stack of plates teetered on the edge of the shelf. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 verb · to move or balance... wobbletotterswaywaverbalanceseesawstagger ↔ Opposites steadystabilize Word family Derived forms teeteringteetered Related forms totterteeter-totter Etymology AI details An alteration of dialectal titter ('to seesaw, totter'), from Middle English titeren, of Scandinavian origin (compare Old Norse titra 'to shake, shiver'). titra Old Norse View etymology graph -> Topics Verbs of Movement Word Formation & Derivatives External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # teeter **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** verb **IPA (US):** /ˈtitɚ/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈtiːtə/ ## Meanings 1. to move or balance unsteadily; to waver ## Examples - The stack of plates teetered on the edge of the shelf. ## Synonyms - wobble - totter - sway - waver - balance - seesaw - stagger ## Antonyms - steady - stabilize ## Derived Forms - teetering - teetered ## Related Forms - totter - teeter-totter ## Roots and Affixes - Root: titra ## Etymology An alteration of dialectal titter ('to seesaw, totter'), from Middle English titeren, of Scandinavian origin (compare Old Norse titra 'to shake, shiver'). ## AI Etymology Teeter is an alteration of dialectal titter ('to seesaw, totter'), from Middle English titeren, of Scandinavian origin (compare Old Norse titra 'to shake, shiver'). The historical chain includes Old Norse titra. The quoted older senses, "to seesaw, totter" and "to shake, shiver", supply the semantic anchors for teeter. The formation is best read as borrowed: the word teeter carries its older form-history into a compact English lexical shape. In present English it is used as a verb, "to move or balance unsteadily; to waver". English derivatives include teetering and teetered; related English forms include totter and teeter-totter. The result is a verb and noun whose etymology preserves both the older form and the later English specialization. ## Topics - Verbs of Movement - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown