stumble
Americanverb (used without object)
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stumbles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
stumbled,
past participle, past
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stumbling
present participle
-
to strike the foot against something, as in walking or running, so as to stagger or fall; trip.
-
to walk or go unsteadily.
to stumble down a dark passage.
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to make a slip, mistake, or blunder, especially a sinful one.
to stumble over a question; to stumble and fall from grace.
-
to proceed in a hesitating or blundering manner, as in action or speech (often followed byalong ).
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to discover or meet with accidentally or unexpectedly (usually followed by on, upon, oracross ).
They stumbled on a little village.
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to falter or hesitate, as at an obstacle to progress or belief.
verb (used with object)
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stumbles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
stumbled,
past participle, past
-
stumbling
present participle
-
to cause to stumble; trip.
-
to give pause to; puzzle or perplex.
noun
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stumbles
plural
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the act of stumbling.
-
a moral lapse or error.
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a slip or blunder.
verb
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to trip or fall while walking or running
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to walk in an awkward, unsteady, or unsure way
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to make mistakes or hesitate in speech or actions
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to come (across) by accident
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to commit a grave mistake or sin
noun
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a false step, trip, or blunder
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the act of stumbling
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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stumblesimple
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stumblessimple
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have stumbledperfect
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has stumbledperfect
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am stumblingprogressive
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are stumblingprogressive
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is stumblingprogressive
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have been stumblingperfect progressive
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has been stumblingperfect progressive
Past
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stumbledsimple
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had stumbledperfect
-
was stumblingprogressive
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were stumblingprogressive
-
had been stumblingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of stumble
1275–1325; Middle English stumblen; cognate with Norwegian stumla to grope and stumble in the dark; akin to stammer
Explanation
To stumble means to nearly fall by tripping or missing a step. When you walk over uneven cobblestones, it’s easy to stumble, so please be careful. While stumble often means to nearly fall, it can also mean to make a misstep of a different kind. If you stumble over your words, you speak in a stuttering confused manner. Politicians make so many public decisions that they're bound to stumble — make a mistake — occasionally. When you stumble on rare mushrooms, i.e. come across them unexpectedly, be sure have the species verified before you eat them.
Vocabulary lists containing stumble
"Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare, Act II
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Unit 3: Compelling Evidence
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Steve Jobs's Commencement Address (2005)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
I’ve seen him stumble, fall and constantly deflect reality.
From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2026
To put it simply, when faced with really elite opposition, England continue to stumble.
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026
One bad game doesn’t mean the season is over, but for a Rams team set on a Super Bowl-or-bust trajectory, they can’t afford another prime-time stumble.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026
U.S. equities generally stumble toward the beginning of interest-rate hiking cycles by the Federal Reserve – but there are certain markets which outperform, according to Citigroup.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026
They’d be well hidden here, but if monsters did stumble across them, they would have no warning.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
Many question whether neocloud firms are financially sound and what their recent stumbles tell us about the state of the AI economy.
From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026
A love letter also includes the struggles and includes the stumbles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026
Despite the recent stumbles in the AI trade, it has been a bleak year for fund managers who aren’t all-in on it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026
Wall Street grew more worried over Netflix’s viewership trends on Tuesday, as investors soured on the streaming giant’s sales outlook and stumbles in its advertising business.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 20, 2026
Nan stumbles to her feet and takes one tottering step toward the Mask.
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
Palantir Technologies’ stock stumbled on Tuesday despite the software company reporting its first quarterly revenue of over $2 billion.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 3, 2026
I am disinclined, however, to judge too harshly those who cling to the vision of Israel as an exceptional nation — one that has stumbled, perhaps, but may yet regain its true path.
From Salon ● Nov. 2, 2026
The Jazz guard drove on Williams and was called for a push-off foul as Williams stumbled backward.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026
She said Joanne had stumbled on "the edges of a far greater issue in her relationship", which was "something far more invasive and shocking".
From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2026
This is the first time I have said Luc’s name since I stumbled out of the switchboard room in France.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
"I remember stumbling upon Bleach and thought: 'This looks cool'," he recalls.
From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026
One of the stumbling blocks for those was the environmental-review process, which could take months or even years.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026
Uber’s new Kenyan safari business is stumbling as local guides push back against the idea.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
The dispute between Hearn and White is the latest stumbling block following years of failed negotiations around the fight.
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026
Rather than stumbling, she just pauses, making the moment seem intentional.
From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
