fumble
Use Fumble in a sentence
bəl 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.
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), out·fum·bled, out·fum·bling.
un·fum·bled, adjective
Synonyms
3. bungle, botch, mishandle, spoil, muff.
3. bungle, botch, mishandle, spoil, muff.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
|
Link To fumble
00:10
Fumble
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is skedaddle. Does it mean:
| to run away hurriedly; flee. |
| to steal or take dishonestly (money, esp. public funds, or property entrusted to one's care); embezzle. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
fumble (ˈfʌmbəl) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —vb | |
| 1. | (intr; |
| 2. | (intr; |
| 3. | to say or do hesitantly or awkwardly: he fumbled the introduction badly |
| 4. | to fail to catch or grasp (a ball, etc) cleanly |
| —n | |
| 5. | the act of fumbling |
| [C16: probably of Scandinavian origin; related to Swedish fumla] | |
| 'fumbler | |
| —n | |
| 'fumblingly | |
| —adv | |
| 'fumblingness | |
| —n | |
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
Cite This Source
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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Example sentences
Don't stand in a doorway and fumble in your purse or pocket for your keys.
Workers may lose coordination, have slurred speech, and fumble with items in the hand.
But he did not give the ball away on a fumble or interception.
Even a small change in their shape will produce botched proteins that fumble their electrons.
Image for fumble
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