stumble across

Idioms  

1. Also, stumble on. Find by chance, discover or meet with unexpectedly. For example, When we were hiking up the mountain we stumbled across a few abandoned shepherd's huts, or At the flea market Alfred stumbled on a quite valuable old lithograph. This idiom uses stumble in the sense of “accidentally trip.” [Mid-1500s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

stumble across

But on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, users were likelier to stumble across news while doing something else.

From Barron's ● Jun. 15, 2026

If you're worried a relative might stumble across the item they'd bought you while they bargain hunt you can always donate to a charity shop outside of your local area.

From BBC ● Dec. 25, 2025

Remarkably few of these old-world venues remain in circulation — there are only a handful in America — although they are much revered in Europe, where it is much more common to stumble across one.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 4, 2025

Come May in Seattle, you can’t help but stumble across flowers bursting out of every yard.

From Seattle Times ● May 18, 2024

Then I stand back up, lean left, right, backward, and then wobble and stumble across home.

From "A High Five for Glenn Burke" by Phil Bildner

Related Words

• arrive at
• catch
• reach
• seize
• take