Straggled

1 definition found

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

  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.
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     2. To wander at large; to roam idly about; to ramble.
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              The wolf spied out a straggling kid.  --L'Estrange.
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     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.
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              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.
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