verb
stumble
STUHM-buhl
verb
1
To trip or lose one’s balance while walking.
"She stumbled on the uneven pavement but didn’t fall."
"He stumbled over his words during the speech."
2
To come across something by chance.
"We stumbled upon a hidden café while exploring the city."
How to Use Stumble
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishTo trip physically, to fumble while speaking, or to find something unexpectedly.
Common pairings
stumble upon
stumble across
stumble over words
Word Forms
stumbled past tense, stumbles plural, stumbles singular
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She _____ on the uneven pavement but didn’t fall.
Etymology
From a Proto-Germanic root related to "tripping" or "stammering," making it a distant relative of the word stammer.