fumble 1 of 2

noun

Definition of fumblenext
as in mistake
an unintentional departure from truth or accuracy played the entire piano piece without a single fumble

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

fumble

2 of 2

verb

ˈfəm-bəl How to pronounce fumble (audio)
1
as in to blow
to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way her assistant fumbled the party plans by getting the time wrong on the invitations

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to grope
to search for something blindly or uncertainly the librarian fumbled for the light switch as she entered the dark room

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3
as in to stumble
to make a mistake just when it looked like he was going to get away with the ruse, he fumbled

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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 fumble
Noun
After Winston completed a 15-yard pass to Braxton Berrios, McCrary-Ball stripped the receiver, and Stiggers recovered the fumble in the end zone for a touchback. — Antwan Staley, New York Daily News, 29 Aug. 2026 His third drive also ended in a turnover when Dolphins linebacker Jackson Woodard recovered Robinson’s fumble at the Miami 13. — ABC News, 28 Aug. 2026
Verb
Olugbode fumbled in the second quarter but scored soon after. — Pj Green september 4, Kansas City Star, 4 Sep. 2026 The company, which offers credit cards used to make rent and mortgage payments, had fumbled a critical transition, leading to confusion and financial stress for its customers. — Andy Kroll, ProPublica, 31 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for fumble
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fumble
  1. mistake
  2. blow
  3. grope
  4. stumble
  5. blunder
  6. boot
  7. look
  8. trip
Noun
  • The mistakes that sink applications Loan files in this category rarely die because the borrower earns too little.
    — Karen Koehler, Miami Herald, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Innovation Is Not One Game Organizations also make the mistake of treating innovation as a single activity.
    — Jeff DeGraff, Fortune, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of mistake
Verb
  • Usually a cold front blows through a few days before the dove season opener.
    — Bryan Hendricks, Arkansas Online, 6 Sep. 2026
  • For Halloween, look for the more interesting items that can’t be found in retail stores, such as vintage items like blow molds and anything paper mâché.
    — Ashley Poskin, Martha Stewart, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of blow
Verb
  • Ibarra and an unspecified number of his friends reportedly groped a woman at the Buena Vista party.
    — Logan Smith, CBS News, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Quaylin Wesley, 27, of Oakland and Vallejo, has been charged with 10 felonies for allegedly going into the girl’s room repeatedly on the night of June 13 and groping her, forcing her to touch him, and attempting to sodomize her, prosecutors say.
    — Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of grope
Verb
  • Most critics of judicial supremacy stumble over the fact that a strong Court sometimes benefits their side.
    — Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Analysis from Zeki Data shows that where OpenAI and Anthropic are making gains in the AI talent market, Google DeepMind (and to some extent Meta) are stumbling.
    — Andrew Nusca, Fortune, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of stumble
Noun
  • There were mighty blunders off the field too under Jarmond, including an email that went out to donors that came with an attachment revealing personal information and spending tallies of the department’s biggest donors.
    — Mirjam Swanson, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Common Mistakes When Cleaning Earbuds Take special care to avoid damaging your earbuds by avoiding these common blunders.
    — Emily Hayes, Martha Stewart, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of blunder
Verb
  • House Speaker Mike Johnson is tested by his narrow majority almost daily, and his predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, was the first in history to be booted from office, ousted by a small number of opponents from his own side.
    — Lisa Mascaro, Los Angeles Times, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Many foreign energy companies, including American oil majors ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil, had their assets seized by Venezuela in 2007 during then-President Hugo Chávez’s nationalization drive and were booted out of the country.
    — David Goldman, CNN Money, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of boot
Verb
  • Goodness knows what happened there and what circumstances compelled him to write that Instagram post, but his future at Spurs now looks untenable.
    — Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 2 Sep. 2026
  • The result is a motorcycle that looks considerably more like a conventional competition dirt bike than some of the smaller electric machines that have appeared in recent years.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of look
Verb
  • The defense tried to trip Wright up over his ethical complications and criminal record — a year and a half in federal prison for money laundering and marijuana sales.
    — Jeff Weiss, HollywoodReporter, 1 Sep. 2026
  • The fourth hour began haphazardly as the Today With Jenna & Sheinelle camera operator tripped over a chair during their intro segment.
    — Leigh Blickley, Entertainment Weekly, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of trip

Browse Nearby Words

fulsome
fumble
fumbled
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Cite this Entry

“Fumble.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fumble. Accessed 8 Sep. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on fumble

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about fumble

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