Straggle
Straggle , intransitive verb
[Freq. of Old English straken to roam, to stroke. See Stroke, transitive verb]
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.
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.
4.
To be dispersed or separated; to occur at intervals.
Straggling pistol shots.
They came between Scylla and Charybdis and the straggling rocks.
Straggle , noun
The act of straggling. [Rare] — Carlyle