fumble
verb (used without object)
to feel or grope about clumsily.
had been fumbling
-
past perfect progressiveof fumble.past perfect progressive
Used to describe an action that was ongoing continuously in the past up until another past event interrupted it.
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.
With her last-second goal, the message Wambach had been fumbling for since the beginning got through: What you achieve on the field is more important than who you are off of it.
From Slate ● Dec. 16, 2015
The brand of Arkansas hospitality accorded Preacher Williams and Miss Blagden last week swung the spotlight of national attention on the 1936 Arkansas sharecroppers' strike which had been fumbling along unnoticed for four weeks.
From Time Magazine Archive
I could tell right away that someone had been fumbling through my things.
From "Bud, Not Buddy" by Christopher Paul Curtis
As he ended he opened the hand that had been fumbling at a pocket and showed her the ring—her engagement ring—lying in his palm.
From The Tigress by Anne Warner
She regarded the subject with ridicule, observing as she spoke the end of the sash with which her fingers had been fumbling.
From The Loyalist A Story of the American Revolution by James Francis Barrett
