stumble

/ˈstʌmbəl/

/ˈstʌmbəl/

Other forms: stumbled; stumbling; stumbles

To stumble means to nearly fall by tripping or missing a step. When you walk over uneven cobblestones, it’s easy to stumble, so please be careful.

While stumble often means to nearly fall, it can also mean to make a misstep of a different kind. If you stumble over your words, you speak in a stuttering confused manner. Politicians make so many public decisions that they're bound to stumble — make a mistake — occasionally. When you stumble on rare mushrooms, i.e. come across them unexpectedly, be sure have the species verified before you eat them.

Definitions of stumble

1. verb

   miss a step and fall or nearly fall
   “She stumbled over the tree root”

   synonyms: trip

   types:

   founder

   stumble and nearly fall

   type of:

   move

   move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion
2. verb

   walk unsteadily
   synonyms: bumble, falter

   type of:

   walk

   use one's feet to advance; advance by steps
3. verb

   make an error
   synonyms: slip up, trip up

   type of:

   err, mistake, slip

   make a mistake or be incorrect
4. verb

   encounter by chance
   “I stumbled across a long-lost cousin last night in a restaurant”

   synonyms: hit

   type of:

   come by, come into

   obtain, especially accidentally
5. noun

   an unsteady, uneven gait
   synonyms: lurch, stagger

   type of:

   gait

   a person's manner of walking
6. noun

   an unintentional but embarrassing blunder
   synonyms: misstep, trip, trip-up

   type of:

   bloomer, blooper, blunder, boo-boo, botch, bungle, flub, foul-up, pratfall

   an embarrassing mistake