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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Look Both Ways
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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:
If I bumble that first line, we came to France for nothing.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 11, 2026
Could 9-8 be enough to bumble into the playoffs this season?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2025
"This could have cascading effects on bumble bee populations."
From Science Daily ● Nov. 18, 2024
Despite all the heavy talk, the film is peppered with moments of levity - the director occasionally cuts away abruptly from tough conversations to run footage of soothing shorelines and bumble bees on flowers.
From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2024
I was so nervous I feared I would bumble and make a fool of myself.
From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane
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
The misstep and bumbled efforts to correct it, which left many unable to work their speakers, infuriated the brand’s loyal customers and took a toll on the company’s bottom line.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 13, 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
Blunt stole the show with laugh-out-loud one-liners, often delivered dripping with contempt to Hathaway’s bumbling newbie second assistant.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 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
In that Peacock series, Elizabeth Banks’ Lindy Littlejohn is a best-selling author tired of diminishing her well-earned reputation to placate her husband, a bumbling scientist.
From Salon ● Apr. 23, 2026
"The island would not be the same without him. He's still bumbling, still a wee bit getting the wrong end of the stick quite a lot."
From BBC ● Apr. 11, 2026
I wonder if I’ll ever not be bumbling and weird around Phil.
From "Love, Hate & Other Filters" by Samira Ahmed
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.
