Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition


Straggle

Strag′gle

,
Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Straggled
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Straggling
.]
[Freq. of OE.
straken
to roam, to stroke. See
Stroke
,
Verb.
T.
]
1.
To wander from the direct course or way; to rove; to stray; to wander from the line of march or desert the line of battle;
as, when troops are on the march, the men should not
straggle
.
Dryden.
2.
To wander at large; to roam idly about; to ramble.
The wolf spied out a
straggling
kid.
L’Estrange.
3.
To escape or stretch beyond proper limits, as the branches of a plant; to spread widely apart; to shoot too far or widely in growth.
Trim off the small, superfluous branches on each side of the hedge that
straggle too far out
.
Mortimer.
4.
To be dispersed or separated; to occur at intervals.
Straggling pistol shots.”
Sir W. Scott.
They came between Scylla and Charybdis and the
straggling
rocks.
Sir W. Raleigh.

Strag′gle

,
Noun.
The act of straggling.
[R.]
Carlyle.

Webster 1828 Edition


Straggle

STRAGGLE

,
Verb.
I.
stragl. [This word seems to be formed on the root of stray. G., to pass, to migrate.]
1.
To wander from the direct course or way; to rove. When troops are on the march, let not the men straggle.
2.
To wander at large without an certain direction or object; to ramble.
The wolf spied a straggling kid.
3.
To exuberate; to shoot too far in growth. Prune the straggling branches of the hedge.
4.
To be dispersed; to be apart from any main body.
They came between Scylla and Charybdis and the straggling rocks.

Definition 2024


straggle

straggle

English

Verb

straggle (third-person singular simple present straggles, present participle straggling, simple past and past participle straggled)

  1. To stray from the road, course or line of march.
    He straggled away from the crowd and went off on his own.
  2. To wander about; ramble.
    • L'Estrange
      The wolf spied out a straggling kid.
  3. To spread at irregular intervals.
    • 1907, Harold Bindloss, chapter 7, in The Dust of Conflict:
      Then there was no more cover, for they straggled out, not in ranks but clusters, from among orange trees and tall, flowering shrubs [] .
  4. To escape or stretch beyond proper limits, as the branches of a plant; to spread widely apart; to shoot too far or widely in growth.
    • Mortimer
      Trim off the small, superfluous branches on each side of the hedge that straggle too far out.
  5. To be dispersed or separated; to occur at intervals.
    • Sir Walter Scott
      straggling pistol shots
    • Sir Walter Raleigh
      They came between Scylla and Charybdis and the straggling rocks.

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

straggle (plural straggles)

  1. The act of straggling.