teeter

1. (intransitive)To tilt back and forth on an edge.

   He teetered on the brink of the precipice.

   schwanken, wankeln, sich winden

   кача́тьсяkačátʹsja, колеба́тьсяkolebátʹsja

2. (intransitive)To totter (move unsteadily).

   move unsteadily, with a rocking motion

3. (figuratively)To be indecisive; to hesitate.

   We teetered on the fence about buying getaway tickets and missed the opportunity.

4. (figuratively)To be close to becoming a typically negative situation.

   Despite appearances, the firm was teetering on the edge of bankruptcy.

1. Tom and Mary were playing on the teeter-totter.

   ruТом и Мэри качались на качелях. — marafon

   CC BY 2.0 FR · Tatoeba · CK · C2Open on TatoebaReport a problem

2. The book teetered on the edge of the table.

   CC BY 2.0 FR · Tatoeba · mccarras · C2Open on TatoebaReport a problem

3. Because of his maladministration, his company was teetering on the edge of bankruptcy.

   CC BY 2.0 FR · Tatoeba · patgfisher · C2Open on TatoebaReport a problem

4. What we are seeing now is a country teetering on the brink of civil war.

   deWas wir jetzt sehen, ist ein Land, welches am Rande eines Bürgerkriegs entlangtaumelt. — al_ex_an_der

   CC BY 2.0 FR · Tatoeba · patgfisher · C2Open on TatoebaReport a problem

5. Many small businesses with limited cash reserves are teetering on the edge of financial ruin.

   CC BY 2.0 FR · Tatoeba · Hybrid · C2Open on TatoebaReport a problem

irregular