stumble
[ stuhm-buh l ]
/ ˈstʌm bəl /
verb (used without object), stum·bled, stum·bling.
verb (used with object), stum·bled, stum·bling.
to cause to stumble; trip.
to give pause to; puzzle or perplex.
noun
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Nearby words
stuka, stukkend, stull, stultify, stum, stumble, stumble across, stumblebum, stumbling block, stumer, stump
Origin of stumble
1275–1325; Middle English stumblen; cognate with Norwegian stumla to grope and stumble in the dark; akin to stammer
Related formsstum·bler, nounstum·bling·ly, adverbun·stum·bling, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for stumble
British Dictionary definitions for stumble
stumble
/ (ˈstʌmbəl) /
verb (intr)
noun
a false step, trip, or blunder
the act of stumbling
Derived Formsstumbler, nounstumbling, adjectivestumblingly, adverb
Word Origin for stumble
C14: related to Norwegian stumla, Danish dialect stumle; see stammer
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 stumble
stumble
c.1300, "to trip or miss one's footing" (physically or morally), probably from a Scandinavian source (cf. dialectal Norwegian stumla, Swedish stambla "to stumble"), probably from a variant of the Proto-Germanic base *stam-, source of Old English stamerian "to stammer," German stumm "dumb, silent." Possibly influenced in form by stumpen "to stumble," but the -b- may be purely euphonious. Meaning "to come (upon) by chance" is attested from 1550s. Stumbling-block first recorded 1526, used in Rom. xiv:13 to translate Greek skandalon.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper