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
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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
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Before that, Tampa Bay fumbled scoring opportunities in five of the first seven innings and stranded five overall.
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After South Korea’s goalkeeper fumbled a ball, Luis Romo scored the goal that gave the Mexicans six points and pushed them to the top of the standings.
Verb
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Once seen as the Fox News for the next generation of conservatives, the Daily Wire has stumbled over the last several years.
-
Through a connection, Jobs stumbled upon what was then the computer animation division of Star Wars creator George Lucas’ production company Lucasfilm and was immediately impressed, wrote Walter Isaacson in his biography of the Apple cofounder.
Verb
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Messi somehow blew a penalty kick in the eighth minute, when teammate Lautaro Martinez was brought down by Austrian defender Stefan Posch.
-
Several hours before the whistle blew on the pitch, Norwegian fans flocked to Times Square in the heart of New York City to give their squad a proper sendoff.
Verb
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On occasion, reporters quite literally tripped and fell over tripods and camera setups while the unfazed athletes answered a line of seemingly never-ending rapid-fire questions.
-
Pulisic left that game with an injury to his right leg after being tripped by Australian defender Jason Geria.
Verb
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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.
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Padres fielders blundered in three of his outings.
Cite this Entry
“Flubbed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flubbed. Accessed 25 Jun. 2026.
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