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verb (used without object)
1.
to feel or grope about clumsily: She fumbled in her purse for the keys.
2.
Sports. to fumble the ball.
verb (used with object)
3.
to make, handle, etc., clumsily or inefficiently: to fumble an attempt; He fumbled his way through the crowded room.
4.
Sports. to fail to hold or maintain hold on (a ball) after having touched it or carried it.
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Fumble
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is lollygag. Does it mean:
| to steal or take dishonestly (money, esp. public funds, or property entrusted to one's care); embezzle. |
| to spend time idly; loaf. |
noun
5.
the act of fumbling: We completed the difficult experiment without a fumble.
6.
Sports. an act or instance of fumbling the ball.
Origin:
1500–10; akin to Norwegian, Swedish fumla, Middle Low German fummeln to grope, fumble
1500–10; akin to Norwegian, Swedish fumla, Middle Low German fummeln to grope, fumble
Related forms
fum·bler, noun
fum·bling·ly, adverb
fum·bling·ness, noun
out·fum·ble, verb (used with object), -bled, -bling.
un·fum·bled, adjective
EXPANDun·fum·bling, adjective
COLLAPSESynonyms
3. bungle, botch, mishandle, spoil, muff.
3. bungle, botch, mishandle, spoil, muff.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To fumble
Example Sentences
- The fumble was typical of the seesaw nature of the game.
- But once they have to be on their own, narcissists usually fumble and fall.
- We fumble for the high-powered scopes and examine the spot.
Collins
World English Dictionary
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
fumble
mid-15c., "handle clumsily," possibly from O.N. falma "to fumble, grope." Similar words in Scand. and North Sea Gmc. suggest onomatopoeia from a sound felt to indicate clumsiness (cf. bumble, stumble, and obsolete English famble, fimble of roughly the same meaning). Related: Fumbled; fumbling.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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