bumble
1 Americanverb (used without object)
-
to bungle or blunder awkwardly; muddle.
He somehow bumbled through two years of college.
-
to stumble or stagger.
-
to speak in a low, stuttering, halting manner; mumble.
verb (used with object)
noun
verb (used without object)
verb
-
to speak or do in a clumsy, muddled, or inefficient way
he bumbled his way through his speech
-
(intr) to proceed unsteadily; stumble
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of bumble1
1525–35; perhaps blend of bungle and stumble
Origin of bumble2
1350–1400; Middle English bomblen, frequentative of bomben to boom, buzz; imitative
Explanation
To bumble is to move or speak in an awkward, fumbling way. You might bumble your way through your first dance performance, tripping over your own two feet. When you bumble, you walk unsteadily or speak with a stutter. You can also bumble something, or completely mess it up. An inexperienced teacher might bumble her attempts at managing a huge class of middle school students, and you might worry that you'll bumble your first interview as a radio reporter. Bumble was first used in the 1500's, and it's probably an imitative word, or one that sounds like what it means.
Vocabulary lists containing bumble
Awkward Moments
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"The Wife of Bath's Tale," Vocabulary from the narrative poem
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Look Both Ways
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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.
See Examples For:
If I bumble that first line, we came to France for nothing.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 11, 2026
Could 9-8 be enough to bumble into the playoffs this season?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2025
"We found that larger bumble bee queens, typically more likely to survive winter and establish successful colonies, were paradoxically more vulnerable to pesticide exposure," Dr. Rondeau explains.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 18, 2024
Despite all the heavy talk, the film is peppered with moments of levity - the director occasionally cuts away abruptly from tough conversations to run footage of soothing shorelines and bumble bees on flowers.
From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2024
I was so nervous I feared I would bumble and make a fool of myself.
From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane
The Steelers had bumbled into the decisive Week 18 contest by managing the impossible and losing to Shedeur Sanders and Cleveland the week before, extending Baltimore’s life.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 5, 2026
I bumbled and came out with something along the lines of “Who knows?”
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 2, 2025
I bumbled my way through an explanation of not having had my coffee yet and leaving them in the car by mistake.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2025
I got this idea that I could try to draw or write something but bumbled around with it for a long time.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 15, 2023
The difference between me and the others is that I was painfully aware of my ignorance, while others like Simmon bumbled around, making asses of themselves with their clumsy courting.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
In the Angels, who have played their home games in the shadow of Disneyland in Anaheim since 1966, the 79-year-old Kroenke is taking over one of the most bumbling teams in the sport.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
Dumb luck and a last-minute assist from his less charismatic, bumbling pseudo-sibling finally get him into the spotlight.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
"The island would not be the same without him. He's still bumbling, still a wee bit getting the wrong end of the stick quite a lot."
From BBC ● Apr. 11, 2026
Plus, they also received the annual charity of padding their record with two games against the bumbling New York Jets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 26, 2026
Though he was supposed to be living in hiding in New England, Rudolf Abel’s bumbling agent Reino Hayhanen was lured by the promise of $2,000 to appear on David Brinkley’s Journal, a television news show.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
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.
