fumbled; fumbling
ˈfəm-b(ə-)liŋ 
1
a
: to grope for or handle something clumsily or aimlessly
b
: to make awkward attempts to do or find something
fumbled in his pocket for a coin
c
: to search by trial and error
d
: blunder
2
: to feel one's way or move awkwardly
3
a
: to drop or juggle or fail to play cleanly a grounder
b
: to lose hold of a football while handling or running with it
1
: to bring about by clumsy manipulation
2
a
: to feel or handle clumsily
b
: to deal with in a blundering way : bungle
3
: to make (one's way) in a clumsy manner
4
a
: misplay
fumble a grounder
b
: to lose hold of (a football) while handling or running
Synonyms
Examples of fumble in a Sentence
Verb
She fumbled in her pocket for her keys.
They fumbled a good opportunity to take control of the market.
He was hit hard and fumbled on the 20-yard line.
He fumbled the ball on the 20-yard line.
Noun
played the entire piano piece without a single fumble
Recent Examples on the Web
Melvin Backman, Quartz, 14 Mar. 2024
The Lai family supplemented Huong Que with a secondary, English-language handle, so that its new Western fans wouldn’t fumble the pronunciation.
—Tim Carman, Washington Post, 23 Feb. 2024
Image: Netflix Making characters fumble in the darkness on their way to solving the puzzle of Three-Body was one of the many ways Liu mirrored, on a microscopic level, the book’s larger ideas about the power of collaborative efforts versus the control that comes from individual decision-making.
—Charles Pulliam-Moore, The Verge, 21 Mar. 2024
But in the eighth inning, with just four outs left, Angels shortstop Liván Soto fumbles a grounder hit by Conner Capel.
—Max Kim, Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2024
Another huge punt is briefly fumbled, but Chiefs returner Richie James is able to corral it.
—Jason Abbruzzese, NBC News, 12 Feb. 2024
There are also ball-security issues — he’s fumbled 10 times in three seasons, losing six.
—Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Feb. 2024
McCaffrey fumbled the ball on the first drive of the game.
—Victoria Hernandez, USA TODAY, 12 Feb. 2024
Kelce, who’d been taken out of the game when Pacheco fumbled, screamed right after at coach Andy Reid on the sideline before bumping him — an exchange CBS’s broadcast replayed for the millions watching.
—Jesse Newell, Kansas City Star, 12 Feb. 2024
Mike Kaye, Charlotte Observer, 28 Mar. 2024
After the Chiefs’ Isiah Pacheco lost a fumble that was recovered by the 49ers at their 8-yard line, quarterback Brock Purdy scrambled for a 9-yard gain.
—Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 19 Feb. 2024
Van Ginkel is coming off a solid 2023 season with the Dolphins with 6.0 sacks, 8 tackles for loss, 19 QB hits, 8 passes defensed, 1 interception (returned for a touchdown), 1 fumble recovery and 69 tackles.
—Steve Silverman, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
The Chiefs had just two penalties enforced for only 15 yards and their lone turnover, a Mecole Hardman fumble into the end zone, was almost devastating.
—Lorenzo Reyes, USA TODAY, 23 Feb. 2024
As a Season 10 contestant, Kish was the easygoing yet particular frontrunner before she was eliminated following the show’s signature Restaurant Wars challenge, after taking responsibility as team leader for the poor preparation timing and a gelatin fumble by a fellow teammate.
—Yvonne Villarreal, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2024
Fumbling problem Ward is certainly not perfect, as evidenced by dozens of fumbles during his career, the first two seasons at Incarnate Word in San Antonio.
—Susan Miller Degnan, Miami Herald, 6 Mar. 2024
Teammate Trent McDuffie fell on the fumble to complete the touchdown-saving play as the Chiefs beat the Ravens and qualified for the Super Bowl.
—Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 4 Mar. 2024
During a Christmas Day game against the Las Vegas Raiders, Kelce was seen spiking his helmet on the sideline after a fake fumble.
—Marlow Stern, Rolling Stone, 12 Feb. 2024
Verb
Maybe the self-checkout nightmare, in which customers fumble frustratingly with weird machines instead of going to cashiers who know how to operate a company’s point-of-sale (POS) system, is coming to an end.
—Melvin Backman, Quartz, 14 Mar. 2024
The Lai family supplemented Huong Que with a secondary, English-language handle, so that its new Western fans wouldn’t fumble the pronunciation.
—Tim Carman, Washington Post, 23 Feb. 2024
Image: Netflix Making characters fumble in the darkness on their way to solving the puzzle of Three-Body was one of the many ways Liu mirrored, on a microscopic level, the book’s larger ideas about the power of collaborative efforts versus the control that comes from individual decision-making.
—Charles Pulliam-Moore, The Verge, 21 Mar. 2024
But in the eighth inning, with just four outs left, Angels shortstop Liván Soto fumbles a grounder hit by Conner Capel.
—Max Kim, Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2024
Another huge punt is briefly fumbled, but Chiefs returner Richie James is able to corral it.
—Jason Abbruzzese, NBC News, 12 Feb. 2024
There are also ball-security issues — he’s fumbled 10 times in three seasons, losing six.
—Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Feb. 2024
McCaffrey fumbled the ball on the first drive of the game.
—Victoria Hernandez, USA TODAY, 12 Feb. 2024
Kelce, who’d been taken out of the game when Pacheco fumbled, screamed right after at coach Andy Reid on the sideline before bumping him — an exchange CBS’s broadcast replayed for the millions watching.
—Jesse Newell, Kansas City Star, 12 Feb. 2024
Noun
During his three years with the Demon Deacons, Mustapha posted 175 tackles, four sacks, 10 pass breakups, four interceptions and four forced fumbles.
—Mike Kaye, Charlotte Observer, 28 Mar. 2024
After the Chiefs’ Isiah Pacheco lost a fumble that was recovered by the 49ers at their 8-yard line, quarterback Brock Purdy scrambled for a 9-yard gain.
—Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 19 Feb. 2024
Van Ginkel is coming off a solid 2023 season with the Dolphins with 6.0 sacks, 8 tackles for loss, 19 QB hits, 8 passes defensed, 1 interception (returned for a touchdown), 1 fumble recovery and 69 tackles.
—Steve Silverman, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
The Chiefs had just two penalties enforced for only 15 yards and their lone turnover, a Mecole Hardman fumble into the end zone, was almost devastating.
—Lorenzo Reyes, USA TODAY, 23 Feb. 2024
As a Season 10 contestant, Kish was the easygoing yet particular frontrunner before she was eliminated following the show’s signature Restaurant Wars challenge, after taking responsibility as team leader for the poor preparation timing and a gelatin fumble by a fellow teammate.
—Yvonne Villarreal, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2024
Fumbling problem Ward is certainly not perfect, as evidenced by dozens of fumbles during his career, the first two seasons at Incarnate Word in San Antonio.
—Susan Miller Degnan, Miami Herald, 6 Mar. 2024
Teammate Trent McDuffie fell on the fumble to complete the touchdown-saving play as the Chiefs beat the Ravens and qualified for the Super Bowl.
—Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 4 Mar. 2024
During a Christmas Day game against the Las Vegas Raiders, Kelce was seen spiking his helmet on the sideline after a fake fumble.
—Marlow Stern, Rolling Stone, 12 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fumble.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near fumble
Cite this Entry
“Fumble.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fumble. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
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