bungle
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
noun
-
a bungling performance.
-
that which has been done clumsily or inadequately.
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
- bungler noun
- bungling adjective
- bunglingly adverb
- unbungling adjective
Etymology
Origin of bungle
First recorded in 1520–30; of uncertain origin
Explanation
Saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, dropping something, tripping and falling: these are some classic bungles — and they’re always embarrassing. Bungles are bummers, it’s true. Ever said something awkward in front of a grandparent or dropped a cake on someone’s lap? Those are bungles — accidents that make you blush. Bungle can also be used as a verb when someone acts like a fool or simply messes everything up, as in “The teacher bungled her lecture because she left her notes at home,” or “My bungling dad fell into the punch bowl. Again.”
Vocabulary lists containing bungle
And Then There Were None
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The Things They Carried
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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
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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.
Leave it to “SNL” to bungle what should have been a slap shot straight into an open goal.
From Salon • Mar. 6, 2026
Olympic bosses, who never met an issue they couldn’t bungle, fretted about precedent.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 15, 2026
Do we have it in our power to choose comedy over catastrophe and thereby give ourselves another day to bungle along?
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 6, 2023
A confirmed bungle could call into question EPO test results dating back decades, Dr Ordway tells the BBC.
From BBC • Apr. 5, 2023
The dog passed the sheep and reached Nyame first—only to bungle the message.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
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.
