teeter
nounEtymology Alteration of titter.
teeter
verbUK /ˈtiːtə/ · US /ˈtitəɹ/
Etymology Alteration of titter.
1
To tilt back and forth on an edge.
- He teetered on the brink of the precipice.
- The concrete floors of B2B sheds were already being built to an exacting degree of flatness, calibrated using lasers, so that forklifts would not teeter while lifting pallets to the highest shelves.2019 November 21, Samanth Subramanian, “How our home delivery habit reshaped the world”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 24 Jan 2025:
1 more example
- This is not a land of blowouts. It’s a middle ground, and that’s reflected in voter registration rolls. Nearly 2.6 million North Carolinians declare themselves unaffiliated, while just over 2.4 million identify as Democrats and just under 2.2 million as Republicans. We don’t tilt. We teeter.2023 May 4, Frank Bruni, “Republicans Are Running Wild in My State”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 25 Aug 2023:
2
To totter (move unsteadily).
- How many other organizations have sprung up amidst apparently unlimited energy, been the focus of a great deal of activism and education, and then begun to diminish? Some teeter along for a long time even though their base of support seems to have eroded; some metamorphose into something else entirely. Others die, and their death may be more or less peaceful, more or less guilt-riddled.1985 December 28, Nora Janeway, “Women's Pentagon Action Meets for the Last Time”, in Gay Community News, volume 13, number 24, page 12:
3
Figuratively To be indecisive; to hesitate.
- We teetered on the fence about buying getaway tickets and missed the opportunity.
4
Figuratively To be close to becoming a typically negative situation.
- Despite appearances, the firm was teetering on the edge of bankruptcy.
- Derived terms
- teeterboard, teeterer, teeteringly, teeter-tail, teeter-totter, teetery