straggle

/ˈstrægəl/

/ˈstrægəl/

Other forms: straggling; straggled; straggles

To straggle is to wander in an indirect, meandering way. Lions often go for the small antelopes that straggle behind the herd.

To straggle is to veer from a route, or to wander aimlessly behind everyone else. If you plan to go to the movies but end up at a store and then a friend's house, you straggled. Straggling is a type of digressing — to straggle is to get sidetracked. In the military, straggling often means to stay on leave too long or be in the wrong position for a battle. When people straggle, they've gone off-course.

Definitions of straggle

1. verb

   wander from a direct or straight course
   synonyms: depart, digress, sidetrack

   type of:

   deviate, divert

   turn aside; turn away from
2. verb

   go, come, or spread in a rambling or irregular way
   “Branches straggling out quite far”

   synonyms: sprawl

   type of:

   distribute, spread

   distribute or disperse widely
3. noun

   a wandering or disorderly grouping (of things or persons)
   “a straggle of outbuildings”

   “a straggle of followers”

   type of:

   group, grouping

   any number of entities (members) considered as a unit