bumble
1 Americanverb (used without object)
-
to bungle or blunder awkwardly; muddle.
He somehow bumbled through two years of college.
-
to stumble or stagger.
-
to speak in a low, stuttering, halting manner; mumble.
verb (used with object)
noun
verb (used without object)
verb
-
to speak or do in a clumsy, muddled, or inefficient way
he bumbled his way through his speech
-
(intr) to proceed unsteadily; stumble
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of bumble1
1525–35; perhaps blend of bungle and stumble
Origin of bumble2
1350–1400; Middle English bomblen, frequentative of bomben to boom, buzz; imitative
Explanation
To bumble is to move or speak in an awkward, fumbling way. You might bumble your way through your first dance performance, tripping over your own two feet. When you bumble, you walk unsteadily or speak with a stutter. You can also bumble something, or completely mess it up. An inexperienced teacher might bumble her attempts at managing a huge class of middle school students, and you might worry that you'll bumble your first interview as a radio reporter. Bumble was first used in the 1500's, and it's probably an imitative word, or one that sounds like what it means.
Vocabulary lists containing bumble
Awkward Moments
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"The Wife of Bath's Tale," Vocabulary from the narrative poem
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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.
See Examples For:
Hansen would then make a dramatic entrance and interrogate the men, who would often stammer and bumble through the encounter before leaving.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2026
In the play, two minor characters from Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” bumble about, confused about their role in the prince’s drama, and wander into existential discussions about the search for meaning.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 29, 2025
Six bumble bee colonies foraged in a shared arena where they could approach feeders that either had ants nearby or had no ants at all.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 13, 2025
These field exposure estimates informed subsequent studies on the impact of such exposure on hibernating bumble bee queens and the hoary squash bee, a solitary ground-nesting species.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 18, 2024
Listen to this one: 'Bee it ever so bumble there’s no place like comb.’”
From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
Almost sounds silly now, with the way the team has stumbled and bumbled its way through the first four games.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026
The Steelers had bumbled into the decisive Week 18 contest by managing the impossible and losing to Shedeur Sanders and Cleveland the week before, extending Baltimore’s life.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 5, 2026
I bumbled my way through an explanation of not having had my coffee yet and leaving them in the car by mistake.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2025
I got this idea that I could try to draw or write something but bumbled around with it for a long time.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 15, 2023
No more could he afford to be the silly little novice that had bumbled about the Abbey before the start of the present troubles.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
The fumbling, bumbling Chargers keep stumbling in their unprecedented 0-4 start in the Jim Harbaugh era.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2026
In the Angels, who have played their home games in the shadow of Disneyland in Anaheim since 1966, the 79-year-old Kroenke is taking over one of the most bumbling teams in the sport.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
But I always thought of it as kind of a portrait of parenthood, bumbling through parenting.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
What Lily couldn’t have foreseen, of course, was that her amateur detective skills would become necessary when, one day, George is found dead, and the investigation by a bumbling local policeman isn’t up to snuff.
From Salon ● May 25, 2026
"Ain't I been listening to your stomach rumbling- bumbling for the last hour? Do me the kindness of filling the kettle at the pump. Soon as the potatoes are boiled up, we'll feast, eh?"
From "The Whipping Boy" by Sid Fleischman
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
