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.
It was my first Valentine’s Day with my new girlfriend, and I was left scrambling when I realized my blunder too late to find a table anywhere.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 22, 2026
The blunder was first reported by tech news outlet Bleeping Computer, which said it had seen a service alert confirming the issue.
From BBC • Feb. 19, 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
A manufacturing blunder recently turned a smiling horse plushie into an icon of China's young employees.
From Barron's • Feb. 5, 2026
And then there is “faux pas,” which is an embarrassing blunder or lapse of good manners.
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
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.
