bumble

1 of 2

verb (1)

bum·​ble ˈbəm-bəl 

bumbled; bumbling ˈbəm-b(ə-)liŋ 

intransitive verb

1

: buzz

2

: drone, rumble

bumble

2 of 2

verb (2)

bumbled; bumbling

intransitive verb

1

: blunder

specifically : to speak ineptly in a stuttering and faltering manner

2

: to proceed unsteadily : stumble

transitive verb

: bungle

bumbler

ˈbəm-b(ə-)lər 

noun

Synonyms of bumble

Verb (1)

• hum
• buzz
• zip

Verb (2)

• fumble
• blow
• bungle

Examples of bumble in a Sentence

Verb (1)

a fly bumbling around the room while we were trying to sleep

Verb (2)

accused the White House staff of bumbling the announcement of the replacement for the cabinet post

I sort of bumbled through the dance number, hoping that it would soon end

overcome with stage fright, I could only bumble through the speech

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Despite the seeming horror of it all, the world just bumbles onwards. — Dade Hayes, Deadline, 22 July 2026

She was cast as Athena, the class ‘troublemaker’ was Odysseus, and the school’s headmaster bumbled around, one-eyed, as the Cyclops. — Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 17 July 2026

Except this time, the keeper’s save bumbled forward out of his hands and the ball dropped to Mikel Merino, who came to Spain’s rescue yet again. — Aleks Klosok, CNN Money, 10 July 2026

The pair come off less as cybercriminal masterminds than as galumphing galoots—that is to say, a pair of bumbling oafs who thought that asking AI how to cover their tracks was going to keep them out of federal prison. — Nate Anderson, ArsTechnica, 14 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

Verb (1)

Middle English bomblen to boom, of imitative origin

Verb (2)

perhaps alteration of bungle

First Known Use

Verb (1)

1689, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (2)

1533, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Phrases Containing bumble

• bumble bee

Rhymes for bumble

• crumble
• fumble
• grumble
• humble
• jumble
• mumble
• rumble
• stumble
• tumble
• umbel