straggle /ˈstɹæɡl̩/verb 4noun 2forms 3 verb4 •To stray, rove, or wander from a normal course and others of its kind.He straggled away from the crowd and went off on his own. •To move along slowly so as to remain some distance behind the person or people in front. •Grow or hang messily.The roses had been allowed to straggle across the path.A few gray wisps straggled from underneath his cap. •To act in a disorderly and irregular way. noun2 •An irregular, spread-out group.At Milton the road is blocked by yet another Anzac parade, a straggle of people raw-faced in the cold. — 2005 •An outlier; something that has strayed beyond the normal limits.Nevertheless there is a straggle of pungent sense in it, — like the outskirts of lightning, seen in that dismally wet weather, which the Royal Party had. — 1858 formsstraggled · straggling · straggles
