\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.
2. To wander at large; to roam idly about; to ramble.
         The wolf spied out a straggling kid.  --L'Estrange.
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.
         Trim off the small, superfluous branches on each
         side of the hedge that straggle too far out.
                                               --Mortimer.
4. To be dispersed or separated; to occur at intervals.
   ``Straggling pistol shots.'' --Sir W. Scott.
         They came between Scylla and Charybdis and the
         straggling rocks.                     --Sir W.
                                               Raleigh.

\Strag"gle\, n.
The act of straggling. [R.] --Carlyle.