blunder
Americannoun
verb (used without object)
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to move or act blindly, stupidly, or without direction or steady guidance.
Without my glasses I blundered into the wrong room.
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to make a gross or stupid mistake, especially through carelessness or mental confusion.
Just pray that he doesn't blunder again and get the names wrong.
verb (used with object)
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to bungle; botch.
Several of the accounts were blundered by that new assistant.
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to utter thoughtlessly; blurt out.
He blundered his surprise at their winning the award.
noun
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a stupid or clumsy mistake
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a foolish tactless remark
verb
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to make stupid or clumsy mistakes
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to make foolish tactless remarks
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to act clumsily; stumble
he blundered into a situation he knew nothing about
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(tr) to mismanage; botch
Related Words
See mistake.
Other Word Forms
- blunderer noun
- blundering noun
- blunderingly adverb
- nonblundering adjective
- nonblunderingly adverb
- outblunder verb (used with object)
- superblunder noun
- unblundering adjective
Etymology
Origin of blunder
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English blunderen, blondren (verb), from Old Norse blunda “to shut one's eyes, nap”; compare Norwegian dialect blundra
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.
That he didn’t follow through makes issuing the threat, to begin with, a huge strategic blunder.
From Slate • Apr. 8, 2026
Some might call the stalemate and the passion and the thud and blunder compelling, but you have low expectations if that's the case.
From BBC • Mar. 8, 2026
She is not the only interviewee to cite something that comes across as more of a wistful regret than an actual blunder.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026
CBS looks to have made a strategic blunder when it announced plans last year to cancel “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” but decided to keep host Stephen Colbert on air until May 2026.
From Salon • Feb. 18, 2026
“I got Oppenheimer that job in the first place,” he complained, as though Oppie’s blunder reflected poorly on his own judgment.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
