flounder
1 Americanverb (used without object)
-
flounders,
present (3rd person singular)
-
floundered,
past participle, past
-
floundering
present participle
-
to struggle with stumbling or plunging movements (usually followed by about, along, on, through, etc.).
He saw the child floundering about in the water.
-
to struggle clumsily or helplessly.
He floundered helplessly on the first day of his new job.
-
to be in imminent danger of failure.
The negotiations floundered primarily on the question of extending regional autonomy.
noun
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flounder,
plural
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flounders
plural
-
a European, marine flatfish, Platichthys flesus, used for food.
-
any of numerous similar or closely related non-European flatfishes.
-
any flatfish other than soles.
verb
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to struggle; to move with difficulty, as in mud
-
to behave awkwardly; make mistakes
noun
noun
-
Also called: fluke. a European flatfish, Platichthys flesus having a greyish-brown body covered with prickly scales: family Pleuronectidae : an important food fish
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any flatfish of the families Bothidae (turbot, etc) and Pleuronectidae (plaice, halibut, sand dab, etc)
Usage
Flounder is sometimes wrongly used where founder is meant: the project foundered (not floundered ) because of a lack of funds
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
floundersimple
-
flounderssimple
-
have flounderedperfect
-
has flounderedperfect
-
am flounderingprogressive
-
are flounderingprogressive
-
is flounderingprogressive
-
have been flounderingperfect progressive
-
has been flounderingperfect progressive
Past
-
flounderedsimple
-
had flounderedperfect
-
was flounderingprogressive
-
were flounderingprogressive
-
had been flounderingperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing flounder
List 2
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"The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell
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A Vocabulary Bestiary: Animals That Behave as Verbs
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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:
While some job hoppers flounder, she said, plenty of others hit the ground running.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
“The Little Sister” grows even more intriguing once the love affair runs aground, forcing Fatima to flounder in her heartache.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 12, 2026
The outlook for younger workers could flounder if the effects of the recent oil shock lead to a pullback in discretionary spending.
From Barron's ● May 5, 2026
And recent history shows this is the month where City excel and Arsenal flounder.
From BBC ● Apr. 11, 2026
“You bring me back some nice flounder I can fix up for this fambly. And a couple pound of shrimps,” she said, then turning to Ben she said, “You ever been fishin’ much, Ben?”
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
As Target flounders, some competitors are growing fast.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 3, 2026
Oftentimes, there’s a chasmic dissonance between the urge to fulfill societal expectations of the quintessential athlete and what can actually be accomplished while one’s health flounders.
From Salon ● Aug. 10, 2024
Once her campaign flounders following an expected primary loss in her home state, South Carolina, she will want to preserve her chance to run again in 2028.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 26, 2024
If Pelinka makes the trade and gives Ham the missing piece and the team still flounders … maybe then, you consider firing him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 8, 2024
Rawan flounders ashore, leaning on a man’s arm.
From "Without Refuge" by Jane Mitchell
Harry had designs on Netflix nature documentaries, but non-royal-related shows and movies floundered, and their Archewell production office experienced a significant turnover in staff.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
While Russell has floundered a little, less comfortable with the car, and is still afflicted by bad luck, pace seems to flow from Antonelli so easily.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
Other U.S.-based sodium-ion startups have floundered of late.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
Countries that industrialized, prospered; those that failed to industrialize, floundered.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 23, 2026
“The truth is deeper than that. It’s ...” Bast floundered for a moment.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
It doesn’t help that you two were hired together and you’ve clearly thrived while she seems to be floundering.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026
The performance adds to the list of fiscal challenges in the country, where budget deficits were swelling and giant projects floundering even before the war in Iran.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
He was the emotionally tortured and volatile chef who left behind a rising career in Michelin-starred restaurants to return to Chicago, his hometown, to run his recently deceased brother’s floundering sandwich joint.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
After more than a decade of failed attempts to raise money, blown deadlines and rebrands, it had been floundering.
From Salon ● Jun. 11, 2026
There was no point in describing to him how awesome it was going to be to watch the musicians floundering all over the intersection.
From "Linked" by Gordon Korman
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.
