flounder

¹ American  

[floun-der] / ˈflaʊn dər /

verb (used without object)

1. to struggle with stumbling or plunging movements (usually followed by about, along, on, through, etc.).

   He saw the child floundering about in the water.

2. to struggle clumsily or helplessly.

   He floundered helplessly on the first day of his new job.

   Synonyms:

   muddle, waver, falter

3. to be in imminent danger of failure.

   The negotiations floundered primarily on the question of extending regional autonomy.

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flounder ² American  

[floun-der] / ˈflaʊn dər /

noun

plural

flounder,

plural

flounders

1. a European, marine flatfish, Platichthys flesus, used for food.

2. any of numerous similar or closely related non-European flatfishes.

3. any flatfish other than soles.

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flounder ¹ British  

/ ˈflaʊndə /

verb

1. to struggle; to move with difficulty, as in mud

2. to behave awkwardly; make mistakes

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noun

1. the act of floundering

flounder ² British  

/ ˈflaʊndə /

noun

1. Also called: fluke.  a European flatfish, Platichthys flesus having a greyish-brown body covered with prickly scales: family Pleuronectidae : an important food fish

2. any flatfish of the families Bothidae (turbot, etc) and Pleuronectidae (plaice, halibut, sand dab, etc)

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Usage

Flounder is sometimes wrongly used where founder is meant: the project foundered (not floundered ) because of a lack of funds

Etymology

Origin of flounder¹

First recorded in 1570–80; perhaps blend of flounce ¹ and founder ²

Origin of flounder²

1400–50; late Middle English < Anglo-French floundre < Scandinavian; compare Norwegian flundra

Explanation

A flounder is a flat fish with both eyes on one side of its head; and, as a verb, to flounder is to wobble around like a fish out of water. To flounder is to be unsteady or uncertain. It's probably from the Dutch word flodderen, "to flop about," or it's a mix of founder ("to fail") and blunder ("do something clumsy"). If you flounder in the ocean, you need a surfer dude to scoop you up. You don't have to be in water, though; you can flounder any time you're a little wobbly — like after a long hike or during the last hour of the SATs. Either way, when you flounder, you wish you were a flat fish at the bottom of the sea.

Example Sentences

Or, with no party organisation behind him, he could flounder.

From Barron's • Mar. 6, 2026

He didn’t even like seafood until puberty — “back then it was only flounder or sole for me” — but as an adult, he’s circled back to the foods of his childhood.

From Salon • Dec. 14, 2025

Doncic looks like an MVP in purple and gold, while the Mavericks flounder in the cellar of the Western Conference.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 11, 2025

I still rewatch Hasan doing what he does best, and I admire him—because in that chair I’d probably flounder and set our people back a decade.

From Slate • Jul. 29, 2025

I caught lots of small fish, mackerel and pollock and cod and flounder, and cleaned ’em, too.

From "The Young Man and the Sea" by Rodman Philbrick

Related Words

• flop
• stumble
• wallow