- present participle of flounder.
floundering
Americanadjective
-
struggling, especially clumsily or helplessly.
The vast leap from tonal music to modernism was left to the floundering student to make, unaided.
These classic writing mistakes are guaranteed to unlock the door to instant failure and free you to flop like a floundering fish on the floor.
-
in imminent danger of failure or catastrophic loss.
The floundering venture laid off half its 200 employees and its chairman resigned.
The player’s 2017 campaign not only revived what looked like a floundering career, it proved to be one of the best he'd ever had in the big leagues.
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of floundering
First recorded in 1590–1600; flounder 1 ( def. ) + -ing 2 ( def. ) for the adjective senses; flounder 1 ( def. ) + -ing 1 ( def. ) for the noun sense
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.
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
Owning shares in a floundering company is psychological torture.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
Crucially, the firm also is bullish on Intel’s foundry business, which was seen as a floundering effort as recently as last year.
From Barron's ● Jun. 11, 2026
Many of the players expected to challenge Sinner are floundering, with a glance at the leading French Open seeds offering little suggestion that he can be defeated.
From BBC ● May 23, 2026
“That young idealist must be floundering somewhere at this very moment. It will break the girls’ hearts, just as it’s breaking mine.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
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.
