How to Use stumble in a Sentence

stumble

1 of 2 verb

• He stumbled over to the table.
• The horse stumbled and almost fell.
• I stumbled on the uneven pavement.
• He stumbled drunkenly across the room.
• I heard him stumble over the unfamiliar words.
• The economy has stumbled in recent months.
• She stumbled through an apology.
• The horse isn’t running quite fast enough and stumbles.
  — Sara Lang, The Christian Science Monitor, 6 Apr. 2023
• In those six Mountain West road stumbles, the Aztecs were out-shot from the floor in all but one.
  — Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Mar. 2024
• The wire on the shore needs to be lighted at night so people can see the wire and not stumble into it as a trap.
  — Rachel Clarke, CNN, 18 July 2023
• Henderson opened the season as the consensus No. 1 prospect in the sport, but stumbled out of the gate.
  — Jacob Calvin Meyer, Baltimore Sun, 3 July 2023
• Dear Carolyn: At a back-to-school event, a teacher stumbled over my child’s name.
  — Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 29 Sep. 2023
• As the day wound down and the last oddballs in full ghillie suits and neon green kilts stumbled off the distillery grounds, the sun was still nowhere near setting.
  — Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 31 July 2023
• Early on, their father stumbles into the kitchen and tries to cut a glowing gem out of his body.
  — Vulture, 6 June 2023
• Moss was afraid to leave the house, and her teenage son, after receiving racist threats by phone, stumbled at school.
  — Timothy Noah, The New Republic, 15 Aug. 2023
• Glen stumbles across a bag of OxyContin and ends up snorting some crushed up pills in his car.
  — Korin Miller, Women's Health, 14 Aug. 2023
• But when the film requires Johnson to bump up the energy, the Fifty Shades actress stumbles.
  — Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Feb. 2024
• The 1992 paper remained the last word on see-through wood for more than a decade, until a researcher named Lars Berglund stumbled across it.
  — Jude Coleman, Smithsonian Magazine, 19 Dec. 2023
• But in recent months, the housing market has stumbled and sales of apartments have plunged.
  — Alexandra Stevenson, New York Times, 28 Sep. 2023
• In December 2023, a deer stumbled onto the path of a Daimler truck testing in Texas.
  — Trisha Thadani, Washington Post, 31 Mar. 2024
• Imagine going for a leisurely hike and stumbling upon mounds of pasta in the woods.
  — Caitlin O'Kane, CBS News, 4 May 2023
• The Cowboys can’t afford to stumble at home here with the first of two showdowns against Philadelphia the next week.
  — David Moore, Dallas News, 31 Aug. 2023
• But the Commodores have stumbled in SEC play, and right now are flirting with missing the postseason.
  — USA TODAY, 16 Feb. 2024
• This season, as the playoffs have drawn ever nearer, the Heat have stumbled, and Butler has, too.
  — Louisa Thomas, The New Yorker, 13 Apr. 2024
• While clearing the land to plant crops, Jessen’s husband stumbled upon a hole in which someone had buried a chunk of metal.
  — Jonathan Edwards, Washington Post, 7 July 2023
• Porter stumbled, a handgun falling to his side, and collapsed beside a tree.
  — Emily Davies, Washington Post, 26 Oct. 2023
• The couple stumbled on a photo of Julia Roberts wearing a suit that inspired the final look.
  — Brenton Blanchet, Peoplemag, 2 June 2023
• When Tristan stumbled over his words, Kourtney spoke up again.
  — Joelle Goldstein, Peoplemag, 16 Nov. 2023
• That’s a tricky path that the film occasionally stumbles on.
  — Dennis Harvey, Variety, 6 July 2023
• But it’s told from an outsider’s point of view: a pinch-me-I’m-dreaming day in the life of a nobody who stumbles into the sparkling glitter globe of showbiz.
  — Peter Debruge, Variety, 1 Sep. 2023

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stumble

2 of 2 noun

• In the group stage, a stumble against Hungary was their first loss in the Olympics since 2008.
  — Ava Wallace, Anchorage Daily News, 7 Aug. 2021
• What to say when things go wrong Have a go-to line ready in case of a stumble.
  — Lila MacLellan, Fortune, 17 Mar. 2023
• The longer Biden is out on the campaign trail, the greater the chance of a damaging stumble.
  — David Lauter, Los Angeles Times, 19 Apr. 2023
• But a stumble down the stretch would keep UC out of the dance for the second-straight season.
  — Keith Jenkins, The Enquirer, 9 Feb. 2022
• Cronin’s point: Even the greats had to push through early stumbles.
  — Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 31 Jan. 2024
• But Aird is trying to come back from a stumble of her own.
  — Gregory S. Schneider, Washington Post, 30 May 2023
• Then there was the stumble on No. 8, and the grimace in obvious pain.
  — Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 19 May 2022
• But the major tournaments have been the scenes of stumbles.
  — Alan Blinder, New York Times, 15 June 2023
• But for most of the season’s first 2½ months, too many of these young Bruins’ steps have been stumbles.
  — Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times, 19 Jan. 2024
• But now, five years removed from his stumble, Bromell is headed to the Tokyo Olympics.
  — oregonlive, 20 June 2021
• That being said, the stats are in and the rich experienced a bit of a stumble from their great heights a year ago.
  — Chloe Berger, Fortune, 8 Sep. 2023
• All the ingredients for a stumble out of the gate against Stanford are present.
  — Dallas News, 15 Dec. 2022
• And yes, there seems to be a perception that Trump looks and acts younger than Biden, who has had a stumble or two.
  — Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2023
• But the story is much more complex than that, and the rest of the story is one in which CIA largely shined, with a few stumbles.
  — CBS News, 15 Mar. 2023
• That outlook helped the Sox shrug off Matt Barnes’s game-tying stumble in the ninth and being down to its final strike in the 10th.
  — BostonGlobe.com, 23 Aug. 2021
• Of course, a potential showdown with the Fighting Irish will not mean as much should there be a stumble along the way.
  — Tom Layberger, Forbes, 21 Sep. 2021
• Any stumble, though, and the door is open for shots at the program’s virality.
  — Los Angeles Times, 8 Jan. 2023
• The Chargers also had a costly stumble against the Texans.
  — Jeremy Cluff, The Arizona Republic, 28 Dec. 2021
• While the Nets and Bruins stumble and fumble around, the Celtics are finding their footing.
  — Tara Sullivan, BostonGlobe.com, 5 Nov. 2022
• In one clip, Legendary ran through the house before taking a tiny stumble as his mom tended to him.
  — Hannah Sacks, Peoplemag, 24 Nov. 2023
• What happened at Arlington, when the Longhorns were outscored 20-4, wasn’t the only stumble.
  — Chuck Carlton, Dallas News, 1 June 2021
• Of the four teams in playoff position, the Trojans can least afford a stumble.
  — Eddie Timanus, USA TODAY, 2 Dec. 2022
• Combine this stumble with the impact of the Afghanistan withdrawal and the UK seems to be in a diplomatic quagmire.
  — Felicia Jackson, Forbes, 23 Sep. 2021
• This particular late-game stumble may have hurt more, too, because of what was on the line.
  — Kevin Reynolds Reporter, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 July 2021
• The first stumble, the Sept. 11 loss to Oregon, has seemingly been confronted and solved.
  — Nathan Baird, cleveland, 28 July 2022
• Fellow Japanese skater Shoma Uno had a stumble of his own, on a quad flip, but earned bronze.
  — Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 9 Feb. 2022
• The rare times the Crimson Tide stumble, a mobile, strong-armed quarterback proves to be their kryptonite.
  — Edgar Thompson, orlandosentinel.com, 11 Sep. 2021
• Over the course of a life with more stumbles than triumphs, Mr. Johnson, 44, has experienced a fair amount of heartache.
  — Ernesto Londoño David Guttenfelder, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2023
• But after all those early stumbles, the Gaels found their footing.
  — Jon Wilner, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Jan. 2024
• The Ducks get a visit from No. 23 Washington and need to avoid a stumble ahead of an even bigger showdown against Utah next week.
  — USA TODAY, 10 Nov. 2022

Last Updated: 3 May 2024