teeter

• POS: Noun, Verb (usu participle)
• HYPHEN: tee=ter

CIDE DICTIONARY

teeter, v. i. & t. [Prov. E. titter to tremble, to seesaw; cf. Icel. titra to tremble, OHG. zittarōn, G. zittern.].

 To move up and down on the ends of a balanced plank, or the like, as children do for sport; to seesaw; to titter; to titter-totter.  [1913 Webster]
"[The bobolink] alit upon the flower, and teetered up and down."  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

teeter, v.intr.
1 totter; stand or move unsteadily.
2 hesitate; be indecisive.

Idiom

teeter on the brink (or edge) be in imminent danger (of disaster etc.).

Etymology

var. of dial. titter

THESAURUS

teeter

Lissajous figure, alternate, alternation, back and fill, back-and-forth, balance, battledore and shuttlecock, change, come and go, coming and going, cower, dither, dodder, ebb and flow, equivocate, falter, flounder, fluctuate, flux and reflux, go through phases, halt, hitch and hike, limp, lurch, metronome, oscillate, oscillator, pass and repass, pendulate, pendulum, quiver, reciprocate, reciprocation, rhythmic play, ride and tie, ring the changes, rock, rocker, rocking chair, rocking stone, seesaw, seesawing, shake, shift, shilly-shally, shuffle, shuttle, shuttlecock, sine wave, stagger, stammer, stumble, sway, swing, teeter-totter, teeter-tottering, teeterboard, teetering, teetery-bender, tergiversate, to-and-fro, topple, totter, tottering, tremble, turn, ups and downs, vacillate, vary, vibrator, waver, wax and wane, weave, wibble-wabble, wigwag, wobble, zigzag

ROGET THESAURUS

teeter

Oscillation

VB oscillate, vibrate, librate, alternate, undulate, wave, rock, swing, pulsate, beat, wag, waggle, nod, bob, courtesy, curtsy, tick, play, wamble, wabble, dangle, swag, fluctuate, dance, curvet, reel, quake, quiver, quaver, shake, flicker, wriggle, roll, toss, pitch, flounder, stagger, totter, move up and down, bob up and down, pass and repass, ebb and flow, come and go, vacillate, teeter, brandish, shake, flourish.