Synonyms Examples Word Origin
See more synonyms for fumble on Thesaurus.com verb (used without object), fum·bled, fum·bling. to feel or grope about clumsily: She fumbled in her purse for the keys. Sports to fumble the ball. Show More
verb (used with object), fum·bled, fum·bling. to make, handle, etc., clumsily or inefficiently: to fumble an attempt; He fumbled his way through the crowded room. Sports to fail to hold or maintain hold on (a ball) after having touched it or carried it. Show More
the act of fumbling: We completed the difficult experiment without a fumble. Sports an act or instance of fumbling the ball. Show More
Origin of fumble 1500–10; akin to Norwegian, Swedish fumla, Middle Low German fummeln to grope, fumble
Related forms fum·bler , noun fum·bling·ly , adverb fum·bling·ness , noun out·fum·ble , verb (used with object), out·fum·bled, out·fum·bling. un·fum·bled , adjective un·fum·bling , adjective Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words for fumbling flub ,
stumble ,
mishandle ,
botch ,
goof ,
fluff ,
err ,
flounder ,
mismanage ,
feel ,
grapple ,
spoil ,
grope ,
bungle ,
bollix ,
scrabble ,
misfield Examples from the Web for fumbling Contemporary Examples of fumbling Huckabee framed the situation this way: “We are fumbling on multiple fronts.”
Season one of OITNB chronicled her clumsy, fumbling attempts to get her legs under her so she could run for safety.
By fumbling that final big decision, Ferguson may have tarnished his legacy forever.
But on the IRS story, there was systematic "fumbling " in the West Wing.
Fumbling over the words, he shouts, “This goddammed stutter!”
Historical Examples of fumbling We are, on the contrary, fumbling and wallowing about where the Greek pondered and philosophized.
He had taken his hand away from his breast, and was fumbling with it on the grass behind him.
"About fifty dollars, I think," said the travelling man, fumbling for his wallet.
"I got it 'ere," responded the sailor hastily, fumbling with his tie.
In another instant, fumbling in the darkness, he found the bolts and drove them home.
British Dictionary definitions for fumbling (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 (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 to fail to catch or grasp (a ball, etc) cleanly Show More
Derived Forms fumbler , noun fumblingly , adverb fumblingness , noun Word Origin for fumble C16: probably of Scandinavian origin; related to Swedish fumla
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for fumbling v. mid-15c., "handle clumsily," possibly from Old Norse falma "to fumble, grope." Similar words in Scandinavian and North Sea Germanic suggest onomatopoeia from a sound felt to indicate clumsiness (cf. bumble , stumble , and obsolete English famble , fimble of roughly the same meaning). Related: Fumbled ; fumbling .
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
