blunder

American  

[bluhn-der] / ˈblʌn dər /

noun

1. a gross, stupid, or careless mistake.

   That's your second blunder this morning.

   Synonyms:

   error

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verb (used without object)

1. to move or act blindly, stupidly, or without direction or steady guidance.

   Without my glasses I blundered into the wrong room.

2. 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)

1. to bungle; botch.

   Several of the accounts were blundered by that new assistant.

2. to utter thoughtlessly; blurt out.

   He blundered his surprise at their winning the award.

blunder British  

/ ˈblʌndə /

noun

1. a stupid or clumsy mistake

2. a foolish tactless remark

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verb

1. to make stupid or clumsy mistakes

2. to make foolish tactless remarks

3. to act clumsily; stumble

   he blundered into a situation he knew nothing about

4. (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

Explanation

A blunder is an embarrassing mistake. Accidentally called your new boyfriend by your old boyfriend's name? Ouch. That's a blunder you don't want to repeat. Has an embarrassing mistake ever made you feel like you’re stumbling around with your eyes closed? If so, it won’t surprise you to learn that blunder comes from the Old Norse word blundra, meaning to “shut one's eyes.” It wasn’t until the eighteenth century that blunder came to refer to a stupid or embarrassing mistake, or as a verb, to describe making such a mistake, as in “I tend to blunder when I'm nervous.”

Example Sentences

That he didn’t follow through makes issuing the threat, to begin with, a huge strategic blunder.

From Slate • Apr. 8, 2026

Maybe not switching sooner was a blunder, but you are on the right track to correcting that.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 18, 2026

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

For the next two hours, Beidleman, Groom, the two Sherpas, and the seven clients staggered blindly around in the storm, growing ever more exhausted and hypothermic, hoping to blunder across the camp.

From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer

Related Words

• blooper
• error
• fault
• gaffe
• goof
• inaccuracy
• indiscretion
• lapse
• oversight