stumble

[ stuhm-buh l ]

/ ˈstʌm bəl /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR stumble ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object), stum·bled, stum·bling.

to strike the foot against something, as in walking or running, so as to stagger or fall; trip.

to walk or go unsteadily: to stumble down a dark passage.

to make a slip, mistake, or blunder, especially a sinful one: to stumble over a question; to stumble and fall from grace.

to proceed in a hesitating or blundering manner, as in action or speech (often followed by along).

to discover or meet with accidentally or unexpectedly (usually followed by on, upon, or across): They stumbled on a little village.

to falter or hesitate, as at an obstacle to progress or belief.

verb (used with object), stum·bled, stum·bling.

to cause to stumble; trip.

to give pause to; puzzle or perplex.

noun

the act of stumbling.

a moral lapse or error.

a slip or blunder.

Nearby words

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 stumbling

The CDA was passed not in the name of censorship but in the name of protecting children from stumbling across sexual material.
How the PC Police Threaten Free Speech|Nick Gillespie|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
In the edited conversation below, Earley, 53, talks of Ernest Hemingway, technical challenges, and stumbling toward the light.
Tony Earley's Imaginary Friends|Mindy Farabee|September 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Slayman eased the young man—Matt, from Pennsylvania—out of the car and got him on his stumbling way.
A Report From the Misunderstood Gathering of the Juggalos|Steve Miller|July 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I carried the puppy up the hill, stumbling under the weight.
The Stacks: A Dog Dies, a Boy Grows Up|Pete Dexter|June 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Decadent, venal, ineffective, stratified, anxiety-ridden, stumbling from one declared crisis to the next—who wants that?
The Real Clash of Civilizations|James Poulos|March 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Stumbling hastily to his feet he confronted Dr. Miles Elliot.
The Clarion|Samuel Hopkins Adams
The noise increased, and at last seemed as if somebody was stumbling in his way in the dark.
The Comical Adventures of Twm Shon Catty|T. J. Llewelyn Prichard
It is conceivable that a speaker may be effective in spite of stumbling—but never because of it.
The Art of Public Speaking|Dale Carnagey (AKA Dale Carnegie) and J. Berg Esenwein
They were all running as fast as possible, slipping and stumbling across the stones.
Kit Musgrave's Luck|Harold Bindloss
Woe unto the world, said our blessed Lord, because of occasions of stumbling!
The Expositor's Bible: The Pastoral Epistles|Alfred Plummer

British Dictionary definitions for stumbling

stumble

/ (ˈstʌmbəl) /

verb (intr)

to trip or fall while walking or running

to walk in an awkward, unsteady, or unsure way

to make mistakes or hesitate in speech or actions

(foll by across or upon) to come (across) by accident

to commit a grave mistake or sin

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 Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for stumbling

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.

stumble

verb (used without object), stum·bled, stum·bling.

verb (used with object), stum·bled, stum·bling.

noun

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of stumble

Examples from the Web for stumbling

stumble

verb (intr)

noun

Word Origin for stumble

stumble