falter
verb /ˈfɔːltə(r)/
/ˈfɔːltər/
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they falter | /ˈfɔːltə(r)/ /ˈfɔːltər/ |
| he / she / it falters | /ˈfɔːltəz/ /ˈfɔːltərz/ |
| past simple faltered | /ˈfɔːltəd/ /ˈfɔːltərd/ |
| past participle faltered | /ˈfɔːltəd/ /ˈfɔːltərd/ |
| -ing form faltering | /ˈfɔːltərɪŋ/ /ˈfɔːltərɪŋ/ |
- [intransitive] to become weaker or less effective synonym waver
- The economy shows no signs of faltering.
- Her courage never faltered.
- The economy is beginning to falter.
- The team’s performance faltered badly after the break.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- slightly
- never
- momentarily
- …
- begin to
- [intransitive, transitive] (+ speech) to speak in a way that shows that you are not confident
- His voice faltered as he began his speech.
- [intransitive] to walk or behave in a way that shows that you are not confident
- She walked up to the platform without faltering.
- He never faltered in his commitment to the party.
Word Originlate Middle English (in the senses ‘stammer’ and ‘stagger’): perhaps from the verb fold (which was occasionally used of the faltering of the legs or tongue) + -ter as in totter.