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stumble - Meaning and Examples

Meaning of 'stumble' (Webster Dictionary)

1 . Stumble [ n.]
- A trip in walking or running.
- A blunder; a failure; a fall from rectitude.
2 . Stumble [ v. i.]
- To trip in walking or in moving in any way with the legs; to strike the foot so as to fall, or to endanger a fall; to stagger because of a false step.
- To walk in an unsteady or clumsy manner.
- To fall into a crime or an error; to err.
- To strike or happen (upon a person or thing) without design; to fall or light by chance; -- with on, upon, or against.
3 . Stumble [ v. t.]
- To cause to stumble or trip.
- Fig.: To mislead; to confound; to perplex; to cause to err or to fall.

Meaning of 'stumble' (Princeton's WordNet)

1 . stumble [ n]
Meaning (1):
- an unintentional but embarrassing blunder
Example in sentence:
  • confusion caused his unfortunate misstep;
  • he arranged his robes to avoid a trip-up later;
  • he recited the whole poem without a single trip
2 . stumble [ v]
Meaning (2):
- encounter by chance
Example in sentence:
  • I stumbled across a long-lost cousin last night in a restaurant
Meaning (3):
- make an error
Example in sentence:
  • She slipped up and revealed the name
Meaning (4):
- miss a step and fall or nearly fall
Example in sentence:
  • She stumbled over the tree root
Meaning (5):
- walk unsteadily
Example in sentence:
  • small children toddle;
  • The drunk man stumbled about

Nearby Words:

stub stubbed stubbedness stubbiness stubbing stubble stubbled stubbly stubborn stubby

See 'stumble' also in:

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