straggle

Meaning

Verb

1. To stray, rove, or wander from a normal course and others of its kind.
2. To act in a disorderly and irregular way.
3. To move along slowly so as to remain some distance behind the person or people in front.

Noun

1. An irregular, spread-out group.
2. An outlier; something that has strayed beyond the normal limits.

Synonyms

lag behind

digress

stray

sidetrack

sprawl

depart

spread

err

exhale

extend

fall behind

flare

generalise

generalize

huddle

maunder

outdated

outmoded

overspread

perfuse

prowl

ramble

ramp

roam

spill over

spread out

swad

swan

🦢

shlep

trail

traipse

wander

wean

mill about

anachronistic

remain behind

backward

battery

🔋

clump

conglomeration

diffuse

drift

Hyphenated as

strag‧gle

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈstɹæɡl̩/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: straglen

In summary

From Middle English straglen, of uncertain origin, possibly from (or cognate to) dialectal Norwegian stragla (“to walk laboriously”).