fumble
Americanverb (used without object)
-
fumbles,
present (3rd person singular)
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fumbled,
past participle, past
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fumbling
present participle
-
to feel or grope about clumsily.
She fumbled in her purse for the keys.
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Sports. to fumble the ball.
verb (used with object)
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fumbles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
fumbled,
past participle, past
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fumbling
present participle
noun
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fumbles
plural
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the act of fumbling.
We completed the difficult experiment without a fumble.
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Sports. an act or instance of fumbling the ball.
verb
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(intr; often foll by for or with) to grope about clumsily or blindly, esp in searching
he was fumbling in the dark for the money he had dropped
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(intr; foll by at or with) to finger or play with, esp in an absent-minded way
-
to say or do hesitantly or awkwardly
he fumbled the introduction badly
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to fail to catch or grasp (a ball, etc) cleanly
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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fumblernoun
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fumblingnessnoun
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outfumbleverb (used with object)
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unfumbledadjective
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unfumblingadjective
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fumblinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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fumblesimple
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fumblessimple
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have fumbledperfect
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has fumbledperfect
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am fumblingprogressive
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are fumblingprogressive
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is fumblingprogressive
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have been fumblingperfect progressive
-
has been fumblingperfect progressive
Past
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fumbledsimple
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had fumbledperfect
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was fumblingprogressive
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were fumblingprogressive
-
had been fumblingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of fumble
1500–10; akin to Norwegian, Swedish fumla, Middle Low German fummeln to grope, fumble
Explanation
If you're a football fan you know all about the agony of the fumble — the clumsy handling of the ball that makes you drop it or lose possession. Fumbling is an uncoordinated movement that can involve your entire body, not just your hands. Witness the poor parent of a newborn trying to fumble with a diaper on at three in the morning. Fumble has a more metaphorical meaning as well, meaning to mess up or mishandle. Politicians are often accused of fumbling the major issues.
Vocabulary lists containing fumble
American Football, 2nd Quarter
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"Dulce et Decorum Est," by Wilfred Owen
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Slam!
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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:
Three minutes from time, Canada mounted an attack from halfway after a fumble put Harrison's clearing kick under pressure, and replacement Seumanutafa charged down the left wing to complete the comeback.
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026
After forcing a Bills fumble, the Rams set up a game-winning field goal that Buffalo blocked.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
Three plays into that against-all-odds drive, the Seahawks stripped the ball from Justin Herbert, recovered the fumble and ran out the clock.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026
The Patriots later got another opportunity when Chris Barrera recovered a fumble.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026
While Oscar and Noah fumble along like they’re in a three-legged race, I try to calm the electrical storm in my head.
From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson
And so I ask: Two lost fumbles before halftime?
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 25, 2026
This time their defence did their job too, though, recording four sacks and forcing four fumbles.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
There were 22 accepted flags for 211 yards in penalties, fumbles galore and three turnovers in total.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2026
But it ends with a blooper shot where Burnham fumbles to catch the helmet and bursts out laughing.
From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026
She fumbles to break the silence that’s descended.
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
Just one week after throwing a backbreaking late interception, Manning missed an open receiver and fumbled the ball away on the Longhorns’ final possession against unranked Florida.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 18, 2026
Over the course of four minutes, the robot fumbled with the towel’s floppy and unwieldy shape as it slowly smoothed out the fabric, located the corners and lined up the edges.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
It wasn’t going to fall to running back James Cook, who had fumbled twice already.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
The Giants scored two late touchdowns to force overtime but, when within range of a winning field goal, they ran the ball with Cam Skattebo, who fumbled to lose possession.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
The Widow Ashton fumbled for her pince-nez as the admiral took the drawing in both hands and gave an admiring whistle.
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
Her apparent mistakes: glossing over her failure to pass the bar exam and then fumbling her first—highly abridged—news conference.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 18, 2026
Whether or not it’s fair to compare Take-Two’s investigation of a leaked video game with the DOJ fumbling inquiries into participants of a global sex trafficking ring, the internet has certainly taken notice.
From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2026
I kind of feel like we’re all in this relay race, right, and we’re just fumbling the ball to one another and trying to move forward.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026
"And, of course, the key to solving a problem is to understand why it's gone wrong. Otherwise, you're just fumbling in the dark."
From Science Daily ● May 29, 2026
Susan’s friends laughed at this, although he wondered if it was from pity at his fumbling attempt at humor more than from amusement.
From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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