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definitions

bumble

1
[buhm-buh l]
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verb (used without object), bum·bled, bum·bling.
  1. to bungle or blunder awkwardly; muddle: He somehow bumbled through two years of college.
  2. to stumble or stagger.
  3. to speak in a low, stuttering, halting manner; mumble.
verb (used with object), bum·bled, bum·bling.
  1. to do (something) clumsily; botch.
noun
  1. an awkward blunder.

Origin of bumble

1
1525–35; perhaps blend of bungle and stumble
Related formsbum·bler, noun

bumble

2
[buhm-buh l]
verb (used without object), bum·bled, bum·bling.
  1. to make a buzzing, humming sound, as a bee.

Origin of bumble

2
1350–1400; Middle English bomblen, frequentative of bomben to boom, buzz; imitative
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for bumble

stumble, bungle, bobble, jumble, veil, muffle, blunder, bramble

Examples from the Web for bumble

Historical Examples of bumble

British Dictionary definitions for bumble

bumble

1
verb
  1. to speak or do in a clumsy, muddled, or inefficient wayhe bumbled his way through his speech
  2. (intr) to proceed unsteadily; stumble
noun
  1. a blunder or botch
Derived Formsbumbler, nounbumbling, noun, adjective

Word Origin for bumble

C16: perhaps a blend of bungle + stumble

bumble

2
verb
  1. (intr) to make a humming sound

Word Origin for bumble

C14 bomblen to buzz, boom, of imitative origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for bumble
v.

"to flounder, blunder," 1530s, probably of imitative origin. Related: Bumbled; bumbler; bumbling.

Bumble

"self-important petty official," 1856, from the name of the fussy, pompous, stupid beadle in Dickens' "Oliver Twist."

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper