fumble
verb (used without object)
to feel or grope about clumsily.
were fumbling
-
past progressiveof fumble.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
So drivers from Spokane, Washington, were fumbling with paper maps, trying to figure out the bus routes on the first week of school.
From Slate ● Sep. 14, 2023
“While all of us were fumbling around, in the early years, through our papers and files and in the later years on the computer, Rhonda would immediately know exactly what we were looking for.”
From Washington Post ● Dec. 13, 2021
The Financial Times then reported in February that hundreds of iPhone X users were taking to online forums to complain that their high-tech handsets were fumbling incoming calls, a glitch that Apple pledged to investigate.
From Slate ● May 1, 2018
Through our research, we found that consumers with failing eyesight and reduced dexterity were fumbling during this task.
From New York Times ● Jan. 28, 2012
And when the LEP officers were switching weapons, right at that moment when their hands were fumbling with holsters, that’s when the Mud Man spoke.
From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer
