teeter

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

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.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to move or balance... wobble totter sway waver balance seesaw stagger

Opposites

steady stabilize

Word family

Derived forms teeteringteetered

Related forms totterteeter-totter

Etymology

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

Actions & Processes Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# 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
- Actions & Processes
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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