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Definition of flounder
flounder
orflounders
: flatfish; especially : a marine fish of either of two families (Pleuronectidae and Bothidae) that include important food fishes
From the M-W Editors
flounder was our Word of the Day on 07/29/2016. Hear the podcast!
Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP
Recent Examples of flounder from the Web
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Thin, flaky fish, such as flounder, will not hold together in cubes as well.
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Thin, flaky fish, such as flounder, will not hold together in cubes as well.
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But unfortunately, after two decades, Flounders' memories about that specific March night have faded.
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Paul Tudor Jones’ macro fund lost 1.2% in year through June 2 Event strategy, run by Emil Dabora, has $407 million in assets As the strategy that made him a billionaire flounders, Paul Tudor Jones has found a new way to make money.
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Falterman said the train bridge is also loaded with keeper black drum, redfish, sheepshead and a few leftover flounder.
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Fish is the star of the menu, in the delicate flounder Milanese, lightly fried to a tender crisp, and in a small but mighty Arctic-char tostada.
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In a shallow baking dish, add the flounder and sprinkle the crumb mixture over each fillet.
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The rest of Season 2 flounders around after the central mystery of the show is solved.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'flounder'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of flounder
Middle English, of Scandinavian origin; akin to Norwegian flundra flounder
flounder
Definition of flounder
floundered
;floundering
play \ˈflau̇n-d(ə-)riŋ\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 unprepared — Time
Examples of flounder in a Sentence
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 of flounder from the Web
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So War Machine instead opts to poke fun at the giggle-worthy aspects of dogma floundering in the face of its slow-burning failure.
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Yet as Trump flounders and tramples the sensibility of world leaders, the young Trudeau has punched above Canada’s weight in exerting soft power around the globe.
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Under his recklessly brilliant and unorthodox instruction, some thrive and others flounder, alliances are made and broken, sex is used as a weapon and hearts are unmoored.
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This angler pulled in the dynamic duo -- speckled trout and flounder on June 15, 2017 off the coast of Orange Beach while aboard Jay Hook Inshore Charters.
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His development from shy, floundering teen into wisecracking superhero follows a classic bildungsroman structure that lends itself well to the silver screen.
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According to filings in Pinellas County Circuit Court, Edwards and his company, Marketing Solution Publications, loaned $450,000 to the floundering club on July 6, 2016.
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Flounder accidentally killed a horse -- apparently by inducing fright -- by firing a pistol loaded with blanks into the air during a midnight prank in Dean Vernon Wormer's office.
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The future of auto-dependent Kokomo hung in the balance as Congress deliberated a bailout for the floundering Big Three.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'flounder'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Did You Know?
Despite the fact that flounder is a relatively common English verb, its origins in the language remain obscure. It is thought that it may be an alteration of an older verb, founder. To founder is to become disabled, to give way or collapse, or to come to grief or to fail. In the case of a waterborne vessel, to founder is to sink. The oldest of these senses of founder, "to become disabled," was also used, particularly in reference to a horse and its rider, for the act of stumbling violently or collapsing. It may have been this sense of founder that later appeared in altered form as flounder in the sense of "to stumble."
Origin and Etymology of flounder
probably alteration of founder
FLOUNDER Defined for English Language Learners
flounder
playDefinition of flounder for English Language Learners
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: a type of fish that has a flat body and that is eaten as food
flounder
Definition of flounder for English Language Learners
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: to move in an awkward way with a lot of difficulty and effort
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: to be unsure about what to do or say
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: to have a lot of problems and difficulties
FLOUNDER Defined for Kids
Definition of flounder for Students
: a flatfish used for food
Definition of flounder for Students
floundered
;floundering
1 : to struggle to move or get footing The horses were floundering in the mud.
2 : to behave or do something in a clumsy way I floundered through the speech.
Learn More about flounder
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See words that rhyme with flounder Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for flounder Spanish Central: Translation of flounder Nglish: Translation of flounder for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of flounder for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about flounder
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