as in hummed
to fly, turn, or move rapidly with a fluttering or vibratory sound
a fly bumbling around the room while we were trying to sleep
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
1
as in fumbled
to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way
accused the White House staff of bumbling the announcement of the replacement for the cabinet post
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in stumbled
to proceed or act clumsily or ineffectually
I sort of bumbled through the dance number, hoping that it would soon end
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in chatted
to speak rapidly, inarticulately, and usually unintelligibly
overcome with stage fright, I could only bumble through the speech
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of bumbled
Andy McCullough, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025
After the Knicks bumbled away Game 1 and eventually lost the series in six contests, New York fired former Coach of the Year Tom Thibodeau after five largely successful seasons.
—Alex Kirschenbaum, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Sep. 2025
The same year that Zipf secured his measure of posthumous fame, Harvard’s football team bumbled its way to a 1-8 record.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 5 Sep. 2025
Which is a shame because Cuoco’s chemistry with on-screen husband Chris Messina was entertaining, especially as the couple bumbled their way through the true crime craze comedy.
—Hunter Ingram, Variety, 12 Aug. 2025
Verb
As the Rockies bumbled through the 2025 season, The Athletic asked rival executives about hypothetical ways to fix the franchise.
—Andy McCullough, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025
After the Knicks bumbled away Game 1 and eventually lost the series in six contests, New York fired former Coach of the Year Tom Thibodeau after five largely successful seasons.
—Alex Kirschenbaum, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Sep. 2025
The same year that Zipf secured his measure of posthumous fame, Harvard’s football team bumbled its way to a 1-8 record.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 5 Sep. 2025
Which is a shame because Cuoco’s chemistry with on-screen husband Chris Messina was entertaining, especially as the couple bumbled their way through the true crime craze comedy.
—Hunter Ingram, Variety, 12 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bumbled
Verb
-
Five racks of computer servers hummed in a futuristic yet industrial-looking classroom at Atlanta Technical College, south of downtown.—
Mirtha Donastorg,
AJC.com,
26 May 2026
-
Ventilators hummed in an intensive care unit.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
22 May 2026
Verb
-
Henderson also fumbled after hauling in a pass from DeVito.—
Doug Kyed,
Boston Herald,
2 June 2026
-
During Miami’s two periods of special teams work Malik Washington fumbled his first kickoff return, but most of the other punt returners and kickoff returned fielded their attempts well.—
Omar Kelly,
Miami Herald,
2 June 2026
Verb
-
Weiss, best known for her work as an opinion journalist and the launch of her site The Free Press, has stumbled in her new role in large part due to a lack of experience with TV operations.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
9 June 2026
-
In the fall of 1995, hunters stumbled on Josette’s bones in the woods near rural Carmel, an hour north of the Bronx.—
Paul Solotaroff,
Rolling Stone,
9 June 2026
Verb
-
Ladies sat in plush chairs around the space and chatted.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
29 May 2026
-
The two chatted about when the Beatles first came to America in 1964, creativity, his new album and McCartney’s childhood.—
Mark Kennedy,
Fortune,
23 May 2026
Verb
-
Minutes later, the intercom buzzed, and my father’s voice filled the room, asking me to come down to the street.—
Andrea Bajani,
New Yorker,
7 June 2026
-
Her family filed a missing person’s report the morning after her disappearance, but over 80 hours passed before phones across the province buzzed with a child abduction alert, according to family lawyer Gustavo Vaca.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
3 June 2026
Verb
-
Winn blew the save, and the Giants lost in extras.—
Justice delos Santos,
Mercury News,
8 June 2026
-
Caitlin Clark was part of another disastrous collapse on Saturday night, as the Indiana Fever blew a double-digit lead to the New York Liberty.—
Jackson Thompson OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
7 June 2026
Verb
-
Jalen Brunson has 19 points to lead New York, but the Knicks have struggled to avoid fouls on defense and struggled to make foul shots on the other end.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
11 June 2026
-
Rushing out onto the beach, George struggled to comprehend what had happened.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 June 2026
Verb
-
Immediately, the Spurs dwindled a double-digit lead to five as the Knicks sputtered.—
Fiifi Frimpong,
New York Daily News,
6 June 2026
-
Both series peaked early and both sputtered on to diminishing returns before giving up the ghost (sorry) — at least until the IP was dusted off again, to arguable gain in the case of Scream.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
4 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bumbled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bumbled. Accessed 12 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
