flounder

1 of 2

noun

floun·​der ˈflau̇n-dər How to pronounce flounder (audio)
plural flounder or flounders
: flatfish
especially : any of various marine fishes (families Pleuronectidae, Paralichthyidae, and Bothidae) that include important food fishes

flounder

2 of 2

verb

floundered; floundering ˈflau̇n-d(ə-)riŋ How to pronounce flounder (audio)

intransitive verb

1
: to struggle to move or obtain footing : thrash about wildly
The poor horse was floundering in the mud.
2
: to proceed or act clumsily or ineffectually
the normally surefooted governor floundered a moment like a prize pupil caught unpreparedTime

Did you know?

Flounder is a relatively common verb that current evidence dates to the late 16th century, when it was likely born by means of an alteration of an older verb, founder. The two have been confused ever since. Today, founder is most often used as a synonym of fail, or, in the case of a waterborne vessel, as a word meaning "to fill with water and sink." Formerly, it was also frequently applied when a horse stumbled badly and was unable to keep walking. It's likely this sense of founder led to the original and now-obsolete meaning of flounder: "to stumble." In modern use, flounder typically means "to struggle" or "to act clumsily"; the word lacks the finality of founder, which usually denotes complete collapse or failure, as that of a sunken ship.

Examples of flounder in a Sentence

Verb The horses were floundering through the deep snow. He was floundering around in the pool like an amateur. After watching me flounder for a few minutes, my instructor took over.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Its flavor is more pronounced, too: The flounder has a distinct brininess, which stands up better to the richness of the brioche bun and the acidity of the pickles and tartar sauce. Tim Carman, Washington Post, 28 Feb. 2024 First introduced back in 2021, the flounder fish sandwich comes in classic and spicy options. Sabrina Weiss, Peoplemag, 15 Feb. 2024 But mild fillets like cod, flounder and halibut will be quickly overwhelmed. Melissa Clark, New York Times, 31 May 2023 Examples include flounder and black bass from Long Island, branzino and dorado from Greece, Dover sole from Dover in England and scallops from Maine. Shivani Vora, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2024 Choose from flounder, perch or whiting on a bun with tartar sauce. Heidi Finley, Charlotte Observer, 13 Feb. 2024 Hop aboard a boat called Sailfish for a 70-minute excursion through the Mississippi Sound, catching shrimp along with blue crabs, flounder, squid, and other local marine life. Kelsey Ogletree, Southern Living, 16 Jan. 2024 Snowy flounder, sour cabbage and glassy thin noodles add up to a restorative soup, and squiggles of lamb, garlic and crisp green bell peppers, everything smoky from the wok, arrive with a blast of red chiles and cumin. Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 27 Nov. 2023 The High-Low Surf Fishing Rig Although the high-low rig can be used for larger targets like bluefish, striped bass, and red drum, it’s typically reserved for smaller fish like croakers, seatrout, flounder, and pompano. Joe Cermele, Field & Stream, 26 Oct. 2023
Verb
But on the margin, new projects could flounder or collapse. Samanth Subramanian, Quartz, 9 Mar. 2024 But Johnson departed for LSU in the spring of 2008, following a run to the Sweet 16, and the Cardinal has floundered ever since under Johnny Dawkins and Haase, who took over in the spring of 2016. Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 7 Mar. 2024 Valued at over $120 billion in 1997, when Apple was floundering at $2.3 billion, the company’s devotion to its core PC business threw it for a loop after the dotcom crash. Sydney Lake, Fortune, 23 Feb. 2024 States and counties, floundering to fill the funding gap, started adding fees – sometimes hidden – to all kinds of tickets. Courtney E. Martin, The Christian Science Monitor, 12 Feb. 2024 In trying to fly too high, Rio 2 does too much flailing and floundering to soar. Miami Staff, Miami Herald, 30 Jan. 2024 That said, many of those lawsuits have floundered, so far. Lucas Ropek / Gizmodo, Quartz, 27 Feb. 2024 The frugal Fish may flounder but should be able to avoid the cellar as long as the Nationals stay in the division. Dan Schlossberg, Forbes, 19 Feb. 2024 An offense that converted half of its 18 attempts in the first half floundered in the second half, scoring three on 16 shots. Edward Lee, Baltimore Sun, 3 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'flounder.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, of Scandinavian origin; akin to Norwegian flundra flounder

Verb

probably alteration of founder

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1592, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of flounder was in the 15th century

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Dictionary Entries Near flounder

Cite this Entry

“Flounder.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flounder. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

flounder

1 of 2 noun
floun·​der ˈflau̇n-dər How to pronounce flounder (audio)
plural flounder or flounders
: flatfish
especially : any of various important marine food fishes

flounder

2 of 2 verb
floundered; floundering -d(ə-)riŋ How to pronounce flounder (audio)
: to struggle or go clumsily
floundering through the deep snow
Etymology

Noun

Middle English flounder "a flatfish"; of Scandinavian origin

Verb

probably an altered form of founder "to go lame, collapse"

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