stumble
[ stuhm-buh l ]
/ ˈstʌm bəl /
verb (used without object), stum·bled, stum·bling.
verb (used with object), stum·bled, stum·bling.
to cause to stumble; trip.
to give pause to; puzzle or perplex.
noun
Origin of stumble
1275–1325; Middle English
stumblen; cognate with Norwegian
stumla to grope and stumble in the dark; akin to
stammer
OTHER WORDS FROM stumble
stum·bler, noun stum·bling·ly, adverb un·stum·bling, adjectiveWords nearby stumble
stuka,
stukkend,
stull,
stultify,
stum,
stumble,
stumble across,
stumblebum,
stumbling block,
stumer,
stump
British Dictionary definitions for stumble across
stumble
/ (ˈstʌmbəl) /
verb (intr)
noun
a false step, trip, or blunder
the act of stumbling
Derived forms of stumble
stumbler, noun stumbling, adjective stumblingly, adverbWord Origin for stumble
C14: related to Norwegian
stumla, Danish dialect
stumle; see
stammer
Idioms and Phrases with stumble across
stumble across
Also, stumble on. Find by chance, discover or meet with unexpectedly. For example, When we were hiking up the mountain we stumbled across a few abandoned shepherd's huts, or At the flea market Alfred stumbled on a quite valuable old lithograph. This idiom uses stumble in the sense of “accidentally trip.” [Mid-1500s]