stumblestum‧ble /ˈstʌmbəl/ ●○○ verb [intransitive] 
In her hurry, she stumbled and spilled the milk all over the floor.stumble over/on Vic stumbled over the step as he came in.► see thesaurus at fall2to walk in an unsteady way and often almost fall SYN staggerstumble in/out/across etc He stumbled upstairs and into bed.3to stop or make a mistake when you are reading to people or speakingstumble over/at/through I hope I don’t stumble over any of the long words.—stumble noun [countable]stumble on/across/upon something phrasal verb to find or discover something by chance and unexpectedly SYN come across: Researchers have stumbled across a drug that may help patients with Parkinson’s disease.
WORD ORIGINstumble
Origin:
1300-1400 Probably from a Scandinavian languageVERB TABLE
stumble
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | stumble |
| he, she, it | stumbles | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | stumbled |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have stumbled |
| he, she, it | has stumbled | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had stumbled |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will stumble |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have stumbled |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am stumbling |
| he, she, it | is stumbling | |
| you, we, they | are stumbling | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was stumbling |
| you, we, they | were stumbling | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been stumbling |
| he, she, it | has been stumbling | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been stumbling |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be stumbling |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been stumbling |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- I finished the whiskey, then stumbled upstairs and into bed.
- In her hurry, Eva stumbled and dropped the tray she was carrying.
- Mason headed towards the house, stumbling on the rough ground.
- One runner stumbled, but was able to regain her balance.
- The room was dark, and Stan nearly fell over a chair as he stumbled to the phone.
- As she stumbled along the path, she began to sob.
- As they stumbled lower one sound rose up to meet them.
- He stumbled over the upturned pot but scrambled back to his feet.
- She stumbled backward, out of range, but he stepped toward her and raised his stick again.
- She begun to run, stumbling.
- They stumble over simple words or figures.
THESAURUS
(also fall over, fall down) to suddenly go down onto the floor when standing, walking, or running: · She fell on the stairs and broke her ankle.· Children are always falling over.
to fall or almost fall when you hit your foot against something: · Someone might trip over those toys.· I tripped on a piece of wood.
to fall or almost fall when you are walking on a wet or very smooth surface: · She slipped and hurt her ankle.· I was scared I would slip on the highly polished floor.
to almost fall when you put your foot down in an awkward way: · He stumbled and almost fell.· One of our porters stumbled on the rough ground.
to fall suddenly and heavily to the ground, especially when you become unconscious: · One of the runners collapsed halfway through the race.
to become unsteady so that you start to fall over: · She lost her balance on the first step and fell down the stairs.· Have something to hold onto, in case you lose your balance.
to fall forwards so you are lying on your front on the ground: · She fell flat on her face getting out of the car.
Longman Language Activatorto almost fall from a standing position also trip over British to accidentally hit something with your foot when you are walking or running, so that you fall or nearly fall: · I didn't push him - he tripped.· She'd had quite a lot to drink and kept tripping over.trip over: · Pick up that box -- someone might trip over it.trip on: · Her medical problems began when she tripped on a rug and broke her hip.trip and fall: · One boy tripped and fell into the water.
to accidentally slide on a wet or smooth surface, so that you fall or nearly fall: · Be careful you don't slip - the floor's wet.slip on : · She slipped on the icy sidewalk and grabbed Will's arm to steady herself.slip and fall: · I walked slowly through the mud, trying not to slip and fall.
to nearly fall down when you are walking or running, because you do not put your foot down carefully or because something is in the way: · In her hurry, Eva stumbled and dropped the tray she was carrying.stumble on/over: · Mason headed towards the house, stumbling on the rough ground.
to fall or nearly fall, when you need to balance carefully to remain in an upright position, for example when you are standing on a ladder or riding a bicycle: · I tried to help Gina up, but I lost my balance and we both fell into the stream.· Bill was leaning over to watch, and lost his balance.
to lose your balance because your foot slips, especially when you are walking or climbing over an uneven or slippery surface: · I lost my footing on the snowy bank and fell into the river.· A climber who lost his footing was taken to hospital with serious injuries.
to unexpectedly find something that you were not looking for · We found a lovely seafood restaurant by the harbour.· The body was discovered by a man walking his dog.· It wasn't until I got to university that I discovered poetry.
to find something unexpectedly when you are not looking for it but are doing something else: · I came across an interesting news item in yesterday's 'Times'.· Digging in the garden, she came across some pieces of bone.
to find something by chance and unexpectedly, especially something that was secret or that no one knew before: · The officers stumbled across the drugs when they stopped Moyers for a routine traffic violation.· Fleming was carrying out other research when he stumbled on penicillin.· Some people believe that Jenkins was murdered by government agents because he stumbled across a military secret.
written to find a place or thing that you were not deliberately looking for, or meet someone you did not know you would meet, especially when you consider this a good or lucky thing to have happened: · We happened upon a beautiful little hotel about an hour outside of Tours.· I was walking home from the station when I happened upon Richard.· Leafing through a magazine, I chanced upon a photo of an old high school friend, Robert Mason.
to walk in an unsteady way to walk very unsteadily, with your body moving from side to side and almost falling, especially because you are injured, very tired, or drunk: stagger in/out/home etc: · Something hit me on the head, and I staggered across the room.· My father was staggering under the weight of a huge parcel.
to walk unsteadily, often hitting things with your feet and almost falling, especially because it is dark, the ground is uneven, or because you are tired or drunk: stumble in/out/across etc: · The room was dark, and Stan nearly fell over a chair as he stumbled to the phone.· I finished the whiskey, then stumbled upstairs and into bed.
to walk very unsteadily, moving forward or from side to side with sudden, irregular movements: lurch backwards/towards/forwards etc: · Paul lurched sideways as the boat rolled suddenly.· Harriet lurched towards the bathroom, clutching her stomach in pain.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES He slipped and fell on the ice.COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB
1to hit your foot against something or put your foot down awkwardly while you are walking or running, so that you almost fall SYN trip: He slipped and fell on the ice.· I stumbled across one shack, but was lucky this farmer was easy going.· You might stumble across a phrase or image that seems possible, but as a whole this faux scrapbook reeks.· And in the process we stumbled across a great idea, an entirely new security.· They sleep during the day, so if you stumble across one and startle it awake, they can be dangerous.· Kent stumbled across the map stop 17 years ago when he came to San Diego from Florida.
· They had been stumbling along for some time, trying to be as quiet as possible.· Yet somehow we stumbled along and became better friends.· As she stumbled along the path, she began to sob.· Two men stumbled along ahead of the wheels treading out a safe path across the seething grass.· Every now and again some of it fell off, sometimes on to the lane, often on to the nomes stumbling along it.· On the way to the camp, we passed Sabira Radic, 31, stumbling along the road.· You were stumbling along, following the tracks of a tank.· He ran stumbling along the road, which gave out after a few hundred yards.
· I stumbled around a while then finally located the car.· But who could have anticipated the stumbling around, the tenuous grip on reality?· Rather than stumbling around like a drunken man.· He had stumbled around in her basement under a 25-watt bulb, plowing through marked boxes.· Out of the blazing wreck he leaped, stumbling around on fire from head to toe and screaming.· As he stumbled around the far side of the breakwater, the hard sand was replaced by thick mud.
· He stumbled away in the direction of his own idea; they followed.· Everyone stumbled away, Dove and the onlookers.· They staggered and stumbled away with him.· Sir Alexander Seton stumbled away, a stricken man.· And I felt worse, as I stumbled away, remembering Gharr's laughter when I'd struck him.· She stumbled away, broken and on the verge of despair.
· He then stumbles back on to the shore and collapses to a sitting position.· He cried out in pain and stumbled back against the wall.· The entire frame shuddered, and Cardiff stumbled back.· Mobuto recoiled in horror, stumbling back painfully into the Studebaker's wing mirror.· He was stronger than he looked and I stumbled back into his partner.· She came stumbling back into the dining car followed by a commotion of people yelling behind her.
· She stumbled backwards and I darted out of the way as she fell over.· The old man wobbled and stumbled backwards, wagging his head as if he were trying to shake something out of it.· A cook from the kitchens took one in the eye and stumbled backwards with his hands pressed to his temples.· Yukio's face erupting before her, stumbling backwards, a pressure on her elbow.· The grass blades tore, but their initial resistance sent him stumbling backwards.· In panic she stumbled backwards, twisted round and tried to run into the living room.· He stumbled backwards and struck a bed screen that crashed to the floor, bringing him with it.· As Seawitch rolled heavily Polly's foot slipped on the wet deck and she stumbled backwards, pulling Nathan with her.
· He took his hand away, but as she stumbled down the ladder she could still feel its warm weight.· We ignore the down-at-heel and dissolute as we heartlessly window-shop the boulevards they stumble down.· She reached the stairs, and stumbled down them.· Drunk with fatigue, l stumbled down from the gallery and asked Rafal how much I owed.· He left his rifle on the bank and stumbled down into the water.· She stumbled down the gangway to the hatch.
· She stumbled forward, her legs leaden, afraid to let her eyes sweep the room, afraid not to.· He stumbled forward, and tripped, and fell.· He felt as if he weren't so much walking now as stumbling forward under the weight of that thought.· He was stumbling forward before he knew it, hardly aware of the leaf-mould beneath his feet, hushing his footsteps.· Danjit stumbled forward so that for a moment she felt his lubricious body-thrust.· He stumbled forward so as not to fall.· Lewis bided his time in the second round, but his opportunity came when Grant stumbled forward after a clumsy lunge.· The jumpers stumble forward as they hit, grinning and laughing.
· They had stumbled in upon what was quite clearly nothing less than a pagan sacrifice.· The old man stumbled in, flapping his stump toward the outside.· As we stumble in, Mad Richard from Verve is inadvertently pulling down chunks of the ceiling.
· I stumbled off to be sick behind an armoured personnel carrier as he started on Marius.· I stumbled off to polite applause.· Midway through the fourth song, Yorick gave up and stumbled off the stage.· Derek stumbled off into the nearest clump of vegetation and disturbed three petrified rabbits.
· She stumbled on to the parched grass, taking in her surroundings.· At that the discussion again broke down, but somehow they stumbled on to plans for a dance and a party.· I feel only that we have taken a wrong direction somewhere, and are blindly stumbling on because our leaders blindfold us.· Other weight-loss drugs are things people stumbled on by accident.· Something we haven't stumbled on yet?· All there was left to do was to stumble on, dutifully following the tracks on the ground as they appeared.· They stumbled on, half unconscious with fatigue.· Absorbed in his thoughts, he stumbled on.
· Michael was after me, stumbling out on to the launch platform half-dressed and babbling about two-month training courses.· One night, he stumbled out of his house in the Los Gatos hills, wandering aimlessly.· I stumbled out and the ground seemed to tilt.· I stumbled out of town with barely enough strength to reach the city limits.· I stumbled out that I couldn't live with Richard any longer.· She stumbled out of bed and went to the kitchen.
· I stumbled over him when he was visiting Ted Yaxlee.· A further accident - stumbling over a coffer of government funds in his care - fatally scatters temptation before him.· Or the actor who stumbles over his words for the second time at a rehearsal.· The khthon stumbled over the response.· And here Kames neatly clears up a matter which earlier critics had stumbled over.· He stumbled over graves and bumped into headstones - but he didn't stop.· It has been greatly influenced by the tangled confusion into which the Anglican Communion has stumbled over the ordination of women.· Time after time I stumbled over some hummock of tough grass, and once I went into a creek up to my shoulders.
· And that was when Kegl realized what she had stumbled upon.· And one day I stumbled upon a book that changed my young life: The Great Mouthpiece.· In my own rambles around vents I have stumbled upon and helped describe a few of the new species.· What is this strange, varied and most wonderfully intricate land that we have stumbled upon?
NOUN· She let him stumble and fall to his knees.· Horrified passengers saw Olive stumble and fall off a platform as an express roared in.
· She stumbled to her feet, clutching the eiderdown around her, and opened her mouth to call to them.· She stumbled to her feet, wiping her hands uselessly on her tattered dress before holding them out.· She stumbled to her feet, crossed the dark room and switched on the light.· The horses pulling the train came to a halt and Eline stumbled to her feet.
· Richier's figures blindly stumble on their confused paths.· Major stumbling blocks on the path to self-knowledge are denial and blame.· As she stumbled along the path, she began to sob.· Stan Gordon felt the same before he stumbled on to a path out of the debt-ridden abyss.· The sky was already beginning to darken as she stumbled along the path.· I don't want anyone with personal feelings stumbling across my path.
· Fleischmann and Pons believed that they had stumbled on another way - intense pressures provided by the natural make-up of solid palladium.· Not only did he drink in private, now he stumbled his way home for all the world to see.· For two days, police in the remote coastal region around Sodwana Bay had stumbled and fumbled their way into the case.· We stumbled our way through the cemetery, not saying anything to each other.· It emerged as the most successful of the dozen experiments, largely because it stumbled on a different way of doing business.· We might stumble on the way and wonder whether it is worth all the effort.· The bottom line: The parties have stumbled a short way forward, but the journey is far from over.
· Or the actor who stumbles over his words for the second time at a rehearsal.· But forgive him if his voice cracks or he stumbles over a word.· They stumble over simple words or figures.· He stumbled over his words as he read his speech from a Teleprompter.
In her hurry, she stumbled and spilled the milk all over the floor.stumble over/on Vic stumbled over the step as he came in.► see thesaurus at fall2to walk in an unsteady way and often almost fall SYN staggerstumble in/out/across etc He stumbled upstairs and into bed.3to stop or make a mistake when you are reading to people or speakingstumble over/at/through I hope I don’t stumble over any of the long words.—stumble noun [countable]stumble on/across/upon something phrasal verb to find or discover something by chance and unexpectedly SYN come across: Researchers have stumbled across a drug that may help patients with Parkinson’s disease.