totter (totters 3rd person present) (tottering present participle) (tottered past tense & past participle )
1 verb If someone totters somewhere, they walk there in an unsteady way, for example because they are ill or drunk.
He tottered to the fridge, got a beer and slumped at the table... V prep/adv
2 verb If something such as a market or government is tottering, it is weak and likely to collapse or fail completely.
The property market is tottering. V
...further criticism of the tottering government. V-ing