stumble

B1 Topic:Actions & Processes

US /ˈstʌmbəl/ See IPA manual

Freq #13311

Meanings

1

verb
To hit your foot on something and almost fall.

I stumbled over a tree root in the dark.
2

verb
To walk in an unsteady way.

He stumbled home after the long, tiring journey.
3

verb
To find or meet something by chance.

I stumbled across an old photo while cleaning the attic.
4

verb
To make a mistake or pause while speaking or doing something.

She stumbled over the difficult words in her speech.
5

noun
An act of almost falling after hitting your foot on something.

A loose board caused his stumble on the stairs.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Multiword verbs with stumble

stumble upon Prepositional verb B1

to discover something or meet someone unexpectedly, without deliberately searching

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to hit your foot on... trip

2 verb · to walk in an unsteady way. totter

4 verb · to make a mistake or pause... blunder

Word family

Forms stumbledstumblesstumbling

Derived forms stumble-drunkstumblebumstumblerstumblesomestumbly

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

stumble upon
to discover something or meet someone unexpectedly, without deliberately searching

Verb + preposition/particle

Proverbs (1)

See all

Men stumble over pebbles, never over mountains

Etymology

Ultimately from Proto-Germanic *stam- (“to trip up; to stammer, stutter”), thereby related to German stumm (“mute”), Dutch stom (“dumb”). Doublet of stammer. Also related to verb in Dutch stommelen (“to walk silently”).

*stam- Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# stumble

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** verb, noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈstʌmbəl/
**Frequency rank:** 13311

## Meanings
1. To hit your foot on something and almost fall.
2. To walk in an unsteady way.
3. To find or meet something by chance.
4. To make a mistake or pause while speaking or doing something.
5. An act of almost falling after hitting your foot on something.

## Examples
- I stumbled over a tree root in the dark.
- He stumbled home after the long, tiring journey.
- I stumbled across an old photo while cleaning the attic.
- She stumbled over the difficult words in her speech.
- A loose board caused his stumble on the stairs.

## Derived Forms
- stumble-drunk
- stumblebum
- stumbler
- stumblesome
- stumbly

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *stam-

## Etymology
Ultimately from Proto-Germanic *stam- (“to trip up; to stammer, stutter”), thereby related to German stumm (“mute”), Dutch stom (“dumb”). Doublet of stammer. Also related to verb in Dutch stommelen (“to walk silently”).

## AI Etymology
Stumble Ultimately from Proto-Germanic *stam- (“to trip up; to stammer, stutter”), thereby related to German stumm (“mute”), Dutch stom (“dumb”). Doublet of stammer. Also related to verb in Dutch stommelen (“to walk silently”). In present-day use, it can mean to hit your foot on something and almost fall, or to walk in an unsteady way. Derived formations include stumble-drunk, stumblebum, stumbler, stumblesome, stumbly.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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