flounder
1 Americanverb (used without object)
-
flounders,
present (3rd person singular)
-
floundered,
past participle, past
-
floundering
present participle
-
to struggle with stumbling or plunging movements (usually followed by about, along, on, through, etc.).
He saw the child floundering about in the water.
-
to struggle clumsily or helplessly.
He floundered helplessly on the first day of his new job.
-
to be in imminent danger of failure.
The negotiations floundered primarily on the question of extending regional autonomy.
noun
-
flounder,
plural
-
flounders
plural
-
a European, marine flatfish, Platichthys flesus, used for food.
-
any of numerous similar or closely related non-European flatfishes.
-
any flatfish other than soles.
verb
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to struggle; to move with difficulty, as in mud
-
to behave awkwardly; make mistakes
noun
noun
-
Also called: fluke. a European flatfish, Platichthys flesus having a greyish-brown body covered with prickly scales: family Pleuronectidae : an important food fish
-
any flatfish of the families Bothidae (turbot, etc) and Pleuronectidae (plaice, halibut, sand dab, etc)
Usage
Flounder is sometimes wrongly used where founder is meant: the project foundered (not floundered ) because of a lack of funds
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
floundersimple
-
flounderssimple
-
have flounderedperfect
-
has flounderedperfect
-
am flounderingprogressive
-
are flounderingprogressive
-
is flounderingprogressive
-
have been flounderingperfect progressive
-
has been flounderingperfect progressive
Past
-
flounderedsimple
-
had flounderedperfect
-
was flounderingprogressive
-
were flounderingprogressive
-
had been flounderingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of flounder1
First recorded in 1570–80; perhaps blend of flounce 1 and founder 2
Origin of flounder2
1400–50; late Middle English < Anglo-French floundre < Scandinavian; compare Norwegian flundra
Explanation
A flounder is a flat fish with both eyes on one side of its head; and, as a verb, to flounder is to wobble around like a fish out of water. To flounder is to be unsteady or uncertain. It's probably from the Dutch word flodderen, "to flop about," or it's a mix of founder ("to fail") and blunder ("do something clumsy"). If you flounder in the ocean, you need a surfer dude to scoop you up. You don't have to be in water, though; you can flounder any time you're a little wobbly — like after a long hike or during the last hour of the SATs. Either way, when you flounder, you wish you were a flat fish at the bottom of the sea.
Vocabulary lists containing flounder
List 2
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"The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell
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A Vocabulary Bestiary: Animals That Behave as Verbs
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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 tipped Spain to beat France but still did not expect such a flat performance and their star-studded frontline to flounder as badly as they did.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
“The Little Sister” grows even more intriguing once the love affair runs aground, forcing Fatima to flounder in her heartache.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 12, 2026
Auditors emphasized the $32.99 stuffed flounder eight city employees ordered at a restaurant 30 miles from Elizabeth City.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
Or, with no party organisation behind him, he could flounder.
From Barron's ● Mar. 6, 2026
He catches flounder and sea bass and bluefish.
From "Sarah, Plain and Tall" by Patricia MacLachlan
As Target flounders, some competitors are growing fast.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 3, 2026
Still, Muncy figures to be a linchpin in the Dodgers’ long-term potential at the plate — with his recovery growing ever-steadily in importance as the rest of the lineup flounders in his wake.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 19, 2025
Once her campaign flounders following an expected primary loss in her home state, South Carolina, she will want to preserve her chance to run again in 2028.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 26, 2024
Evergrande's offshore bondholders are expected to sharpen their focus on offshore assets as the developer's debt restructuring plan flounders with the founder now being investigated over suspected "illegal crimes".
From Reuters ● Sep. 29, 2023
Old platter-foot Doxology was daintily nibbling hay from the manger with lips like two flounders.
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
Attempts at diplomacy have floundered as fighting escalates on several fronts across Africa's third-largest country.
From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026
Harry had designs on Netflix nature documentaries, but non-royal-related shows and movies floundered, and their Archewell production office experienced a significant turnover in staff.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
While Ferrari, the pre-race favourites, floundered and made, in the words of their team boss Frederic Vasseur "too many mistakes", Norris and McLaren were almost perfect.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
While Starmer floundered in the polls, Burnham agitated for change.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
After the French stock market crashed when he was thirty-four, he floundered.
From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman
It doesn’t help that you two were hired together and you’ve clearly thrived while she seems to be floundering.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026
He was the emotionally tortured and volatile chef who left behind a rising career in Michelin-starred restaurants to return to Chicago, his hometown, to run his recently deceased brother’s floundering sandwich joint.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
Owning shares in a floundering company is psychological torture.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
Crucially, the firm also is bullish on Intel’s foundry business, which was seen as a floundering effort as recently as last year.
From Barron's ● Jun. 11, 2026
“That young idealist must be floundering somewhere at this very moment. It will break the girls’ hearts, just as it’s breaking mine.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
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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.
