[1] : 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.
      1913 webster

   4. to be dispersed or separated; to occur at intervals.
      "straggling pistol shots." --sir w. scott.
      1913 webster

            they came between scylla and charybdis and the
            straggling rocks.                     --sir w.
                                                  raleigh.
      1913 webster
see also:
straggled straggling stroke 

[2] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

straggle \strag"gle\, n.
   the act of straggling. r. --carlyle.
   1913 webster

[3] : WordNet (r) 2.0

straggle
     n : 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
     2: go, come, or spread in a rambling or irregular way;
        "branches straggling out quite far" syn: sprawl
see also:
sidetrack depart digress sprawl 

[4] : 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

Straggle >> S Words
Straggle, definition of term: Straggle
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