stumble
Americanverb (used without object)
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to strike the foot against something, as in walking or running, so as to stagger or fall; trip.
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to walk or go unsteadily.
to stumble down a dark passage.
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to make a slip, mistake, or blunder, especially a sinful one.
to stumble over a question; to stumble and fall from grace.
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to proceed in a hesitating or blundering manner, as in action or speech (often followed byalong ).
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to discover or meet with accidentally or unexpectedly (usually followed by on, upon, oracross ).
They stumbled on a little village.
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to falter or hesitate, as at an obstacle to progress or belief.
verb (used with object)
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to cause to stumble; trip.
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to give pause to; puzzle or perplex.
noun
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the act of stumbling.
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a moral lapse or error.
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a slip or blunder.
verb
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to trip or fall while walking or running
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to walk in an awkward, unsteady, or unsure way
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to make mistakes or hesitate in speech or actions
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to come (across) by accident
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to commit a grave mistake or sin
noun
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a false step, trip, or blunder
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the act of stumbling
Other Word Forms
- stumbler noun
- stumbling adjective
- stumblingly adverb
- unstumbling adjective
Etymology
Origin of stumble
1275–1325; Middle English stumblen; cognate with Norwegian stumla to grope and stumble in the dark; akin to stammer
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.
Last year’s stumbles came as sales had fallen for six out of eight quarters heading into the period that includes February, which meant inventory purchases were conservative, Sekella said.
“With the markets taking geopolitics in stride so far, the first trading week of the New Year may likely revolve around whether tech will find its footing after stumbling into the end of the year.”
From Barron's
Or that night we stumbled onto a giant controlled burn and saw the flames reach up and tickle the moon and recognized the gnawing feeling that fire is something we can only feign to control.
From Los Angeles Times
One of those times was in Week 13 at Carolina, when they stumbled to a 31-28 defeat that included two Matthew Stafford interceptions, one of which was run back 48 yards for a touchdown.
From Los Angeles Times
Amid a perceived lack of summer investment, Celtic failed to qualify for the Champions League and stumbled out of the blocks domestically under Rodgers' leadership.
From BBC
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.
