| 释义 |
tee·ter
I. \ˈtēd.ə(r), -ētə-\ verb
(-ed/-ing/-s)
Etymology: alteration of earlier titter, from Middle English titeren to totter, reel, sway; akin to Old High German zittarōn to shiver, shake, Old Norse titra to twinkle, shiver, Greek apodidraskein to run away, dramein to run, Sanskrit drāti he runs — more at dromedary
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to move unsteadily: as
(1) : to progress (as by walking) unsteadily
< teetered across the half-finished bridge — Burgess Scott >
(2) : to move unsteadily before or as if before falling : wobble
< stood on chairs and teetered on stepladders — John Dos Passos >
b.
(1) : to waver precariously : show signs of possible impending failure
< for the next few days the attack would teeter from enemy counterattacks — Norman Mailer >
— often used with on
< is always teetering on the edge of catastrophe — Charles Hamblett >
(2) : to oscillate unsteadily especially in a dangerous position
< a passive type who teeters between conformity and revolt — R.N.Denney >
2. : seesaw
< took the little girl to the park so that she could teeter >
transitive verb
: seesaw
< teetered his chair and sighed — G.A.Chamberlain >
II. noun
(-s)
1. [so called from the teetering movements of its tail] : spotted sandpiper
2. : an act of teetering
3. : seesaw 2b
4. : a transverse rolling or rocking in a spring suspension : undulation |