stagger vs stay

stagger

verb
  • To cease to stand firm; to begin to give way; to fail. 

  • To begin to doubt and waver in purposes; to become less confident or determined; to hesitate. 

  • To arrange (a series of parts) on each side of a median line alternately, as the spokes of a wheel or the rivets of a boiler seam. 

  • In standing or walking, to sway from one side to the other as if about to fall; to stand or walk unsteadily; to reel or totter. 

  • To cause to doubt and waver; to make to hesitate; to make less steady or confident; to shock. 

  • To arrange similar objects such that each is ahead or above and to one side of the next. 

  • To schedule in intervals or at different times. 

  • To cause to reel or totter. 

noun
  • An unsteady movement of the body in walking or standing as if one were about to fall; a reeling motion. 

  • The spacing out of various actions over time. 

  • One who attends a stag night. 

  • The horizontal positioning of a biplane, triplane, or multiplane's wings in relation to one another. 

  • Bewilderment; perplexity. 

  • The difference in circumference between the left and right tires on a racing vehicle. It is used on oval tracks to make the car turn better in the corners. 

  • A disease of horses and other animals, attended by reeling, unsteady gait or sudden falling. 

stay

verb
  • To cause to cease; to put an end to. 

  • To live; reside 

  • To incline forward, aft, or to one side by means of stays. 

  • To put off; defer; postpone; delay; keep back. 

  • To brace or support with a stay or stays 

  • To remain in a particular place, especially for a definite or short period of time; sojourn; abide. 

  • To stop; detain; keep back; delay; hinder. 

  • To continue to have a particular quality. 

  • To change; tack; go about; be in stays, as a ship. 

  • To hold out, as in a race or contest; last or persevere to the end; to show staying power. 

  • To restrain; withhold; check; stop. 

  • To hold the attention of. 

  • To prop; support; sustain; hold up; steady. 

  • To support from sinking; to sustain with strength; to satisfy in part or for the time. 

  • To tack; put on the other tack. 

adj
  • Steep; ascending. 

  • Difficult to negotiate; not easy to access; sheer. 

  • Stiff; upright; unbending; reserved; haughty; proud. 

  • (of a roof) Steeply pitched. 

adv
  • Steeply. 

noun
  • A guy, rope, or wire supporting or stabilizing a platform, such as a bridge, a pole, such as a tentpole, the mast of a derrick, or other structural element. 

  • Continuance or a period of time spent in a place; abode for an indefinite time. 

  • A piece of stiff material, such as plastic or whalebone, used to stiffen a piece of clothing. 

  • A corset. 

  • Restraint of passion; prudence; moderation; caution; steadiness; sobriety. 

  • A fixed state; fixedness; stability; permanence. 

  • A strong rope or wire supporting a mast, and leading from one masthead down to some other, or other part of the vessel. 

  • The transverse piece in a chain-cable link. 

  • A prop; a support. 

  • A postponement, especially of an execution or other punishment. 

  • A station or fixed anchorage for vessels. 

How often have the words stagger and stay occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )