1
as in fumbled
to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way
added too much flour and flubbed the gravy
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in stumbled
to make a mistake
at some point in your training you're going to flub, so don't let it rattle you
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of flubbed
The Giants only committed one error when shortstop Willy Adames flubbed a routine grounder, but there were several instances of sloppy defense on San Francisco’s end.
—
Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 10 May 2026
Both there and in Saturday’s F1 Sprint race, Antonelli flubbed the start or got dusted off the line, depending on your point of view.
—David J. Neal
updated May 2, Miami Herald, 2 May 2026
In overtime, leading Leafs scorer William Nylander had a breakaway but flubbed it, sending the Kings the other way for an odd-man rush.
—Andrew Knoll, Daily News, 5 Apr. 2026
With Detroit leading 2-1 in the third, Justin Faulk flubbed a breakout pass up the wall to David Perron, who couldn’t get it out, allowing Boston to extend an offensive zone shift and quickly set up Elias Lindholm on the weak side.
—Max Bultman, New York Times, 22 Mar. 2026
The Ducks equalized when Andrew Mangiapane flubbed a sterling opportunity at one end and Sennecke created one at the other.
—Andrew Knoll, Oc Register, 26 Feb. 2026
The newspaper industry, again and again, has flubbed its chance to propel itself into the future.
—David Wingrave, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
The comedian eventually flubbed a line and broke into laughter while performing the sketch on live TV.
—Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 10 Oct. 2025
The Padres added a run against Diamondbacks starter Zac Gallen in the fifth when Machado walked, Bogaerts volleyed his second single into right field, Sheets reached on a fielder’s choice in which the Diamondbacks flubbed a catch and Jake Cronenworth walked.
—Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Sep. 2025
Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 10 May 2026
Both there and in Saturday’s F1 Sprint race, Antonelli flubbed the start or got dusted off the line, depending on your point of view.
—David J. Neal
updated May 2, Miami Herald, 2 May 2026
In overtime, leading Leafs scorer William Nylander had a breakaway but flubbed it, sending the Kings the other way for an odd-man rush.
—Andrew Knoll, Daily News, 5 Apr. 2026
With Detroit leading 2-1 in the third, Justin Faulk flubbed a breakout pass up the wall to David Perron, who couldn’t get it out, allowing Boston to extend an offensive zone shift and quickly set up Elias Lindholm on the weak side.
—Max Bultman, New York Times, 22 Mar. 2026
The Ducks equalized when Andrew Mangiapane flubbed a sterling opportunity at one end and Sennecke created one at the other.
—Andrew Knoll, Oc Register, 26 Feb. 2026
The newspaper industry, again and again, has flubbed its chance to propel itself into the future.
—David Wingrave, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
The comedian eventually flubbed a line and broke into laughter while performing the sketch on live TV.
—Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 10 Oct. 2025
The Padres added a run against Diamondbacks starter Zac Gallen in the fifth when Machado walked, Bogaerts volleyed his second single into right field, Sheets reached on a fielder’s choice in which the Diamondbacks flubbed a catch and Jake Cronenworth walked.
—Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flubbed
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
-
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
-
Britain’s Katie Boulter and Turkey’s Zeynep Sonmez tripped over Lacoste signs during their early round matches.—
Lev Akabas,
Sportico.com,
7 June 2026
-
The one thing that has tripped me up, however, is sourcing the perfect walking sneakers.—
Kyra Surgent,
InStyle,
6 June 2026
Verb
-
Rubio is the president’s top adviser on both national security and diplomacy at a moment when the United States has blundered into an unpopular war that appears to be a strategic catastrophe.—
David A. Graham,
The Atlantic,
11 May 2026
-
Padres fielders blundered in three of his outings.—
Tom Krasovic,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
17 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Flubbed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flubbed. Accessed 13 Jun. 2026.
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