fumble
[fuhm-buhl]
- to feel or grope about clumsily: She fumbled in her purse for the keys.
- Sports. to fumble the ball.
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- 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.
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- the act of fumbling: We completed the difficult experiment without a fumble.
- Sports. an act or instance of fumbling the ball.
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Origin of fumble
1500–10; akin to Norwegian, Swedish fumla, Middle Low German fummeln to grope, fumble
Synonyms
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
flubstumblemishandlebotchgoofflufferrfloundermismanagefeelgrapplespoilgropebunglebollixscrabblemisfieldExamples from the Web for fumbling
Contemporary Examples
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
We are, on the contrary, fumbling and wallowing about where the Greek pondered and philosophized.
'Tis Sixty Years SinceCharles Francis Adams
He had taken his hand away from his breast, and was fumbling with it on the grass behind him.
In the ValleyHarold Frederic
"About fifty dollars, I think," said the travelling man, fumbling for his wallet.
The Fortune HunterLouis Joseph Vance
"I got it 'ere," responded the sailor hastily, fumbling with his tie.
The Black BagLouis Joseph Vance
In another instant, fumbling in the darkness, he found the bolts and drove them home.
The Black BagLouis Joseph Vance
fumble
- (intr; often foll by for or with) to grope about clumsily or blindly, esp in searchinghe 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 awkwardlyhe fumbled the introduction badly
- to fail to catch or grasp (a ball, etc) cleanly
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- the act of fumbling
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Word Origin
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
fumble
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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fumble
n.
1640s, from fumble (v.).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper