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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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
Starting in all 16 games for the first time since 2012, Smith had five sacks, 48 tackles and a fumble returned for a touchdown. — Sean Campbell, Sacbee.com, 16 June 2026 In a Week 14 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, Smith recovered a fumble and returned it 78 yards for a touchdown — the fifth-longest fumble return in franchise history. — Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 June 2026
Verb
My first few hours with the EM11 NL were marked by overshooting links, fumbling through simple selections, and occasionally wondering why anyone would voluntarily use a vertical mouse. — Sascha Brodsky, PC Magazine, 21 June 2026 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. — Los Angeles Times, 20 June 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
  • Avoiding these debt relief mistakes can help keep costs under control and improve your chances of a successful outcome.
    — Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 13 July 2026
  • This was deliberate and not a fashion or ordered-the-wrong-size-on-Amazon mistake.
    — Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes.com, 12 July 2026
Definition of mistake
Verb
  • Allmendinger blew a tire and hit the wall with 25 laps remaining to cause another caution.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 13 July 2026
  • Moments before the first-half whistle was set to blow, Summit FC was given a golden opportunity to take the lead into halftime.
    — Spencer Baldwin, Denver Post, 13 July 2026
Definition of blow
Verb
  • Franken fake-groped a sleeping woman as a joke, and was then credibly accused of groping numerous women for real.
    — Katha Pollitt, Washington Post, 10 July 2026
  • But there’s a savvy 2026 vibe about the way the film refuses to create florid melodrama out of quotidian crisis, and instead observes with generosity as the characters grope awkwardly toward emotional détente and mutual forgiveness.
    — Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 8 July 2026
Definition of grope
Verb
  • The huge animals knocked bodies to the cobblestones, and stumbling runners caused several pileups during the two-and-a-half-minute run from the pen to the bull ring where bullfighters will kill the bulls later in the day.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 11 July 2026
  • The huge animals knocked down bodies to the cobblestones, and stumbling runners caused several pileups during the 2½-minute run from the pen to the bullring where bullfighters would kill the bulls later in the day.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 11 July 2026
Definition of stumble
Noun
  • Many of the Round of 16 matches have been tight, and a defensive blunder or a goalkeeper howler could change the course of a game.
    — Michael Lewis, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026
  • Goalkeeper Matt Freese’s costly blunder in the 57th minute was an embarrassment that gifted the Belgians a third goal to all but seal the elimination loss.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 7 July 2026
Definition of blunder
Verb
  • Players each have 30 seconds on a personal clock, so whoever takes the longest and runs out of time first — sometimes because Jacquis calls for detailed clarifications — gets booted.
    — Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 14 July 2026
  • The affair was a lopsided route booting the Spanish out of Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and Guam.
    — Chadd Scott, Forbes.com, 10 July 2026
Definition of boot
Verb
  • Wall Street looked past geopolitics even as oil prices climbed on the back of lower-than-expected inflation figures that sent tech stocks higher.
    — Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 15 July 2026
  • In El Limón, responsible luxury has to do more than look good from a drone shot.
    — Rafael Peña, Miami Herald, 15 July 2026
Definition of look
Verb
  • In March, Melissa Graybill, 52, watched her mother, who is 69, begin an arduous recovery journey after tripping while getting off a horse.
    — Erica Sloan, Washington Post, 14 July 2026
  • Most drug development campaigns only discover whether candidates trip this sensor late in the game, forcing drug developers to go back to the drawing board.
    — Brittany Trang, STAT, 14 July 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 18 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on fumble

Nglish: Translation of fumble for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about fumble

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