stumble
Americanverb (used without object)
-
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.
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to give pause to; puzzle or perplex.
noun
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stumbles
plural
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the act of stumbling.
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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
-
a false step, trip, or blunder
-
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
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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:
The author’s latest speculative dystopian fiction features parallel universes that explore alternate realities — and doppelgangers that stumble between the two.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026
As the name suggests, Stolpersteine are intended as memorials people stumble upon, making them reflect on the history of their location.
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 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
Could the two nations, he asked, avoid the “Thucydides Trap”—the ancient pattern, described by the Harvard political scientist Graham Allison, in which a rising power and a ruling one stumble into war?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
“I wasn’t trying to scare you. I just . . . see . . .” I stumble over my words.
From "Clairboyance" by Kristiana Kahakauwila
Most of Workman’s tales are fact-based and reenacted with puppets, although she also stumbles off-site to her local dive bar or her apartment for occasional “Interview with a Demon” segments.
From Salon ● Oct. 2, 2026
It’s not just that a robot becomes less threatening when it stumbles.
From Slate ● Sep. 27, 2026
But here, too, Wladyka stumbles, opting for a comforting but pat ending about how dance and art enliven so many lives.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
How she stumbles away from mourning is sometimes weird, but one of her friends offers sage advice as she does so: “It’s okay to be messy. That’s life, you know.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
I don’t wait for long because just then he stumbles onto the porch as if he’s been pushed.
From "Everything, Everything" by Nicola Yoon
While the U.S. stock market has sometimes stumbled this year after Treasury yields’ sudden bursts higher, Kourkafas sees economic growth and a rotation into tech helping the S&P 500 digest higher rates.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 26, 2026
That means the Dodgers will get five days off next week to prepare for their playoff opener, a godsend for a bruised and bloodied team that has stumbled to the finish of the regular season.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
Jones soon stumbled upon another scam, which takes advantage of users’ trust in verified profiles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
For years, many assumed they had stumbled upon a government checkpoint, and that the abduction of the journalist had been opportunistic.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
He stumbled down the rickety front steps, catching his balance on the banister.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
Finally, the stumbling continues … as they cannot beat teams they should or pull out potential victories over the more challenging ones.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2026
A final stumbling block can be reluctance to give up a high-deductible insurance plan at work, which allows an employee to save money for retirement in a health savings account.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 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
The tumult comes as the 10-year yield was moving close to the widely watched 5% threshold, which many see as a stumbling block for stocks.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 9, 2026
I grabbed one strap of the pack, ignoring the sticky residue squelching under my hands, and pulled it out of the tree, stumbling backward.
From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia
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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.
