Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Stumble

Stum′ble

,
Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Stumbled
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Stumbling
.]
[OE.
stumblen
,
stomblen
; freq. of a word akin to E.
stammer
. See
Stammer
.]
1.
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.
There
stumble
steeds strong and down go all.
Chaucer.
The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know at what they
stumble
.
Prov. iv. 19.
2.
To walk in an unsteady or clumsy manner.
He
stumbled
up the dark avenue.
Sir W. Scott.
3.
To fall into a crime or an error; to err.
He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion og
stumbling
in him.
1 John ii. 10.
4.
To strike or happen (upon a person or thing) without design; to fall or light by chance; – with on, upon, or against.
Ovid
stumbled
, by some inadvertency, upon Livia in a bath.
Dryden.
Forth as she waddled in the brake,
A gray goose
stumbled
on a snake.
C. Smart.

Stum′ble

,
Verb.
T.
1.
To cause to stumble or trip.
2.
Fig.: To mislead; to confound; to perplex; to cause to err or to fall.
False and dazzling fires to
stumble
men.
Milton.
One thing more
stumbles
me in the very foundation of this hypothesis.
Locke.

Stum′ble

,
Noun.
1.
A trip in walking or running.
2.
A blunder; a failure; a fall from rectitude.
One
stumble
is enough to deface the character of an honorable life.
L’Estrange.

Webster 1828 Edition

Stumble

STUMBLE

,
Verb.
I.
[This word is probably from a root that signifies to stop or to strike, and may be allied to stammer.]
1.
To trip in walking or moving in any way upon the legs; to strike the foot so as to fall, or to endanger a fall; applied to any animal. A man may stumble, as well as a horse.
The way of the wicked is as darkness; they know not at what they stumble. Proverbs 4.
2.
To err; to slide into a crime or an error.
He that loveth his brother, abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. 1 John 2.
3.
To strike upon without design; to fall on; to light on by chance. Men often stumble upon valuable discoveries.
Ovid stumbled by some inadvertence upon Livia in a bath.

STUMBLE

,
Verb.
T.
1.
To obstruct in progress; to cause to trip or stop.
2.
To confound; to puzzle; to put to a nonplus; to perplex.
One thing more stumbles me in the very foundation of this hypothesis.

STUMBLE

,
Noun.
1.
A trip in walking or running.
2.
A blunder; a failure.
One stumble is enough to deface the character of an honorable life.

Definition 2024

stumble

stumble

English

Noun

stumble ‎(plural stumbles)

  1. A fall, trip or substantial misstep.
  2. An error or blunder.
  3. A clumsy walk.
    • 2013 June 8, “The new masters and commanders”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8839, page 52:
      From the ground, Colombo’s port does not look like much. Those entering it are greeted by wire fences, walls dating back to colonial times and security posts. For mariners leaving the port after lonely nights on the high seas, the delights of the B52 Night Club and Stallion Pub lie a stumble away.

Synonyms

Translations

Verb

stumble ‎(third-person singular simple present stumbles, present participle stumbling, simple past and past participle stumbled)

  1. (intransitive) To trip or fall; to walk clumsily.
    • Sir Walter Scott
      He stumbled up the dark avenue.
    • 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 1, in Mr. Pratt's Patients:
      I stumbled along through the young pines and huckleberry bushes. Pretty soon I struck into a sort of path that, I cal'lated, might lead to the road I was hunting for.
    He stumbled over a rock.‎
  2. (intransitive) To make a mistake or have trouble.
    I always stumble over verbs in Spanish.‎
  3. (transitive) To cause to stumble or trip.
  4. (transitive, figuratively) To mislead; to confound; to cause to err or to fall.
    • Milton
      False and dazzling fires to stumble men.
    • John Locke
      One thing more stumbles me in the very foundation of this hypothesis.
  5. To strike or happen (upon a person or thing) without design; to fall or light by chance; with on, upon, or against.
    • Dryden
      Ovid stumbled, by some inadvertency, upon Livia in a bath.
    • C. Smart
      Forth as she waddled in the brake, / A grey goose stumbled on a snake.

Derived terms

Translations

See also

Anagrams

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈstʌmbəl/
  • Rhymes: -ʌmbəl

Similar Results