stumble across/on/onto/upon
idiom
: to find or learn about (something) unexpectedly
I stumbled across/on/upon this book by chance.
We stumbled onto/across the ruins of an old fort.
They stumbled on/upon a bizarre plot.
He stumbled onto the truth.
Examples of stumble across/on/onto/upon in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
That good fortune ended Wednesday night with one swing of the bat, one 95.7 mph line drive up the middle, and one awkward stumble on the slope of the mound.
—
Andrew Baggarly, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2025
Example 2: Space-Based Solar Power Renewables stumble on intermittency and storage.
—Robert C. Wolcott, Forbes.com, 14 Aug. 2025
Eight years on from its release, Breath of the Wild still feels revolutionary: There is always something new beyond the next hill, and there are a million different ways to stumble across it.
—Lewis Gordon, Vulture, 9 July 2025
One of the best parts of working for a local news outlet is we that staffers can stumble across a wonderful story just by living our lives.
—Brad Schmitt, The Tennessean, 10 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for stumble across/on/onto/upon
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Andrew Baggarly, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2025
Example 2: Space-Based Solar Power Renewables stumble on intermittency and storage.
—Robert C. Wolcott, Forbes.com, 14 Aug. 2025
Eight years on from its release, Breath of the Wild still feels revolutionary: There is always something new beyond the next hill, and there are a million different ways to stumble across it.
—Lewis Gordon, Vulture, 9 July 2025
One of the best parts of working for a local news outlet is we that staffers can stumble across a wonderful story just by living our lives.
—Brad Schmitt, The Tennessean, 10 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for stumble across/on/onto/upon
Cite this Entry
“Stumble across/on/onto/upon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stumble%20across%2Fon%2Fonto%2Fupon. Accessed 28 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share