flounder

¹ American  

[floun-der] / ˈflaʊn dər /

verb (used without object)

flounders, present (3rd person singular) floundered, past participle, past floundering present participle

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

flounder, plural flounders plural

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

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• flounder
  plural
• flounders
  plural

Participles

• floundering
  present
• floundered
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• flounder
  simple
• flounders
  simple
• have floundered
  perfect
• has floundered
  perfect
• are floundering
  progressive
• am floundering
  progressive
• is floundering
  progressive
• have been floundering
  perfect progressive
• has been floundering
  perfect progressive

Past

• floundered
  simple
• had floundered
  perfect
• was floundering
  progressive
• were floundering
  progressive
• had been floundering
  perfect progressive

Future

• will flounder
  simple
• will have floundered
  perfect
• will be floundering
  progressive
• will have been floundering
  perfect progressive

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

Either of these could be an explanation for why Ariel's only friends are Flounder and Scuttle instead of other merpeople.

From Salon • Sep. 18, 2023

This is what animation should do: wow us with expressive, impossible wonders rather than reimagining Flounder from “The Little Mermaid” as a photorealistic fish.

From New York Times • Jun. 15, 2023

Among the voice actors, Daveed Diggs plays the crab Sebastian, Awkwafina is the diving bird Scuttle, and Jacob Tremblay is the fish Flounder.

From Reuters • May 24, 2023

She swims upward, followed by a fish that looks to be Flounder, to see what’s on the surface.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 9, 2022

Now slipping over a back-yard fence, now at last on the waterfront, Sea Street, Flounder Alley.

From "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Hoskins Forbes

Related Words

• flop
• stumble
• wallow