stum·ble (stŭm'bəl)

v., -bled, -bling, -bles.

v.intr.

1. 1. To miss one's step in walking or running; trip and almost fall.
   2. To proceed unsteadily or falteringly; flounder. See synonyms at blunder.
   3. To act or speak falteringly or clumsily.
2. To make a mistake; blunder.
3. To fall into evil ways; err.
4. To come upon accidentally or unexpectedly: "The urge to wider voyages . . . caused men to stumble upon New America" (Kenneth Cragg).

v.tr.
To cause to stumble.

n.

1. The act of stumbling.
2. A mistake or blunder.

[Middle English stumblen, probably of Scandinavian origin, akin to Old Norse stumra.]

stumbler stum'bler n.
stumblingly stum'bling·ly adv.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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