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
Wide receiver Tahj Washington lost a fumble on a punt return late in the game. — Chris Perkins, Sun Sentinel, 22 Aug. 2026 Fundamentals like gripping the football properly to prevent fumbles, or tackling and lowering your hips to wrap up and drive a player rather than using shoulder pads or lowering the head, which put players at risk for neck and head injuries. — Ethan Hanson, Daily News, 21 Aug. 2026
Verb
Tagovailoa fumbled the snap to start Atlanta’s second drive and Miami recovered. — ABC News, 28 Aug. 2026 Buford scored 17 points off three Gainesville fumbles on punt plays. — Jack Leo, AJC.com, 25 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
  • It’s been a decade since the company best known for sucking up hair balls and dust bunnies blew with great force into the beauty business.
    — Jenny Bailly, Allure, 1 Sep. 2026
  • The Las Vegas spectacle, which opened to the public in August 2025, already blows audiences around with tornado-force wind, shakes them with haptic seats, sends giant winged monkeys flying overhead and drops hundreds of foam apples from the ceiling.
    — Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 31 Aug. 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
  • Boutique seasonal brand, made it to market, suggesting the blunder might be related to a need for more executives and other workers connected with and sensitive to needs and concerns of Black consumers.
    — Cheryl V. Jackson, IndyStar, 27 Aug. 2026
  • From a 2026 lens, extending Braun while kicking Watson’s can down the road looks like an epic blunder that could cost the Nuggets another title in the Joker’s prime.
    — Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 25 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 5 Sep. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on fumble

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about fumble

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