stumble
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.
to cause to stumble; trip.
to give pause to; puzzle or perplex.
the act of stumbling.
a moral lapse or error.
a slip or blunder.
Origin of stumble
1Other words from stumble
- stumbler, noun
- stum·bling·ly, adverb
- un·stum·bling, adjective
Words Nearby stumble
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use stumble in a sentence
The closest thing Rutgers has to a bad loss is a stumble at Michigan State.
NCAA tournament bracketology: After 30 years, Rutgers will get its chance at March Madness | Patrick Stevens | February 9, 2021 | Washington PostThe metrics love Illinois, but it is a 9-5 team with a few stumbles at home.
NCAA tournament bracketology: The bubble might be worse than ever this year. No, really. | Patrick Stevens | January 20, 2021 | Washington PostLeaders in California and elsewhere have made similar stumbles.
Naturally, Big Tech’s retrenchment has heightened the debate over whether its leaders are vastly overpriced and long overdue for a steep slide, or simply suffering a temporary stumble.
Will tech stocks stumble or slide? What the fundamentals tell us | Shawn Tully | September 16, 2020 | FortuneJesse Marx and Lisa Halverstadt broke the news of Thompson’s departure and reviewed the list of stumbles that led to it.
Morning Report: With Building Folly, City Real Estate Director Out | Voice of San Diego | August 4, 2020 | Voice of San Diego
At 5:00 a.m. the clubs get going properly; the Forbes stumble down from their loggias, grinning and swaying tipsily.
A party that cannot make these decisions openly and confidently will stumble in 2016.
What Republicans Need Right Now Is a Good Internal Fight | James Poulos | November 6, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTMeanwhile, the labor unions and liberal groups that nominally backed Cuomo could not be more thrilled to see him stumble.
Andrew Cuomo Can't Ignore It Now: He's Weak Even at Home | David Freedlander | September 10, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTI stumble through interviews for my job at NY1, memories flooding back.
At the end of the fourth season premiere, Arya and The Hound stumble upon a tavern in the woods.
Game of Thrones’ 8 Most Gruesome Deaths: From The Mountain’s Exploding Head Kill to Rat Torture | Marlow Stern | June 4, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTYou never know when you are going to stumble upon a jewel in the most out-of-the-way corner.
Music-Study in Germany | Amy FayAnd very many of them shall stumble and fall, and shall be broken in pieces, and shall be snared, and taken.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version | VariousAnd he shall turn his face to the empire of his own land, and he shall stumble, and fall, ans shall not be found.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version | VariousI feel feverish: my feet drag heavily, and I stumble against the railing.
Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist | Alexander BerkmanThese four years through which I may—must stumble along with my hands tied, are a fair example.
Ancestors | Gertrude Atherton
British Dictionary definitions for stumble
/ (ˈstʌmbəl) /
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
a false step, trip, or blunder
the act of stumbling
Origin of stumble
1Derived forms of stumble
- stumbler, noun
- stumbling, adjective
- stumblingly, adverb
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
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