v. stum·bled, stum·bling, stum·bles v.intr. 1. a. To miss one's step in walking or running; trip and almost fall. b. To proceed unsteadily or falteringly; flounder. See Synonyms at blunder. c. To act or speak falteringly or clumsily: an inexperienced actor stumbling through his lines. 2. To make a mistake or mistakes; blunder: The administration stumbled badly on foreign policy. 3. To come upon accidentally or unexpectedly: "The urge to wider voyages ... caused men to stumble upon New America" (Kenneth Cragg). v.tr. To cause to stumble. n. 1. The act of stumbling. 2. A mistake or blunder. [Middle English stumblen, probably of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse stumra.] stumbler n. stumbling·ly adv. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.