[syn: sprawl, straggle]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Straggle \Strag"gle\, n.
The act of straggling. [R.] --Carlyle.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Straggle \Strag"gle\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Straggled; p. pr. &
vb. n. Straggling.] [Freq. of OE. straken to roam, to
stroke. See Stroke, v. 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.
[1913 Webster]
2. To wander at large; to roam idly about; to ramble.
[1913 Webster]
The wolf spied out a straggling kid. --L'Estrange.
[1913 Webster]
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.
[1913 Webster]
Trim off the small, superfluous branches on each
side of the hedge that straggle too far out.
--Mortimer.
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4. To be dispersed or separated; to occur at intervals.
"Straggling pistol shots." --Sir W. Scott.
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They came between Scylla and Charybdis and the
straggling rocks. --Sir W.
Raleigh.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
straggle
n 1: a wandering or disorderly grouping (of things or persons);
"a straggle of outbuildings"; "a straggle of followers"
v 1: wander from a direct or straight course [syn: sidetrack,
depart, digress, straggle]
2: go, come, or spread in a rambling or irregular way; "Branches
straggling out quite far" [syn: sprawl, straggle]
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
137 Moby Thesaurus words for "straggle":
amble, barge, bat around, be lengthy, be prolonged, belong,
bowl along, bum, bundle, clump, count ties, crane, dawdle,
divagate, drag, drift, err, excurse, extend, extend out,
fall behind, flit, flounce, foot, footslog, gad, gad about,
gallivant, get behind, go about, go adrift, go astray,
go the rounds, halt, hang back, hippety-hop, hit the road,
hit the trail, hitch, hobble, hobo, hop, jaunt, jog, jolt, jump,
knock about, knock around, lag, limp, linger, linger behind,
loiter, lumber, lunge, lurch, maunder, meander, mince, mooch,
mosey, nomadize, outreach, outstretch, pace, paddle, peg,
peregrinate, pererrate, piaffe, piaffer, plod, prance, prowl, rack,
ramble, range, reach out, roam, roll, rove, run about, sashay,
saunter, scramble, scuff, scuffle, scuttle, shamble, shuffle,
sidle, single-foot, skip, slink, slither, slog, slouch, snake,
sprangle, sprawl, spread-eagle, stagger, stalk, stamp,
stand on tiptoes, stomp, straddle, stray, stretch, stretch out,
stride, stroll, strut, stump, swagger, swing, tittup, toddle,
totter, trail, trail behind, traipse, tramp, trip, trudge, twist,
twist and turn, vagabond, vagabondize, waddle, walk the tracks,
wamble, wander, wayfare, wiggle, wind, wobble