Synonyms

straggle

American

[strag-uhl] / ˈstræg əl /

verb (used without object)

straggled, straggling

to spread or be spread in a scattered fashion or at irregular intervals.

The trees straggle over the countryside.
to lag behind others.

Some organizations have caught on to this concept, but others are straggling behind.
to stray from the road, course, or line of march.
to wander about in a scattered fashion; ramble.

straggle British

/ ˈstræɡəl /

verb

to go, come, or spread in a rambling or irregular way; stray
to linger behind or wander from a main line or part

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

straggler noun
straggling adjective
stragglingly adverb
straggly adjective

Etymology

Origin of straggle

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English straglen, of uncertain origin, perhaps a variant of strackle (unrecorded), frequentative of obsolete strake “to go, move” ( -le ( def. ) ); stagger ( def. )

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023