stumble

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.

also stumble on

verb

1. To catch the foot against something and lose one's balance: trip. Idioms: lose one's footing, make a false step. See move/halt.
2. To walk unsteadily: falter, lurch, reel, stagger, teeter, totter, weave, wobble. See move/halt.
3. To move awkwardly or clumsily: blunder, bumble¹. See ability/inability, move/halt.
4. To proceed or perform in an unsteady, faltering manner: blunder, bumble¹, bungle, flounder, fudge, fumble, limp, muddle, shuffle, stagger. See thrive/fail/exist.
5. To make an error or mistake: err, miscue, mistake, slip, slip up, trip up. See correct/incorrect.

phrasal verb - stumble on (or upon)

To find or meet by chance: bump into, chance on (or upon), come across, come on (or upon), find, happen on (or upon), light on (or upon), run across, run into, tumble on. Archaic alight on (or upon). Idioms: meet up with. See meet.

noun

A stupid, clumsy mistake: blunder, bull², bungle, foozle, fumble, muff. Informal blooper, boner. Slang bloomer, goof. See correct/incorrect.

v

Definition: happen upon
Antonyms: lose, overlook

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The idea that it is a bad omen to stumble is one of the few superstitions which have sufficient documentary record to indicate a clear lineage in English folk belief back to medieval times and beyond, with a relatively unchanged meaning. The list of citations in England starts in 1180 with Nigel De Longchamps, Mirror for Fools, and includes Spenser, Shepheardes Calendar (1579), Scot (1584), Shakespeare, Webster, Aubrey, and many more right through to the 20th century. Stumbling on the way out means your journey or mission will go badly, stumbling on the way in (e.g. at the threshold) means that danger or ill luck lurks inside. Opie and Tatem provide all the main references, and two much earlier ones: Plutarch (c.110 AD) and Saint Augustine of Hippo (c.396 AD). Particularly ill-omened, however, is to stumble in a graveyard (Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet (1592), V. iii).

See also STAIRS.

Bibliography
The full bibliography list is available here.

• Opie and Tatem, 1989: 380-1
• Roud, 2003: 440-1

An abnormal gait in which the animal does not fully extend the limb, the plantar surface is not properly placed with respect to the ground surface at the time of impact so that the limb is likely to collapse and the animal to fall.

IN BRIEF: To almost fall while walking or running.

If you are too careful, you are so occupied in being careful that you are sure to stumble over something. — Gertrude Stein (1874-1946)

Dansk (Danish)
v. intr. - falde, snuble, lave fejl
v. tr. - falde, snuble, lave fejl
n. - fejltrin, fejl, snublen

idioms:

• stumble on    falde over, støde på
• stumbling block    anstødssten, vanskelighed

Nederlands (Dutch)
struikelen, strompelen, blunderen, struikeling, blunder

Français (French)
v. intr. - trébucher, entrer, sortir, ou s'en aller en chancelant, hésiter, buter sur, bafouiller
v. tr. - faire trébucher
n. - faux pas, trébuchement

idioms:

• stumble on    avancer en trébuchant, (fig) continuer tant bien que mal, tomber par hasard sur
• stumbling block    pierre d'achoppement

Deutsch (German)
v. - stolpern, stocken
n. - Stolpern, Stocken

idioms:

• stumble on    über jmdn. stolpern, auf etwas stoßen
• stumbling block    Stolperstein

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - σκοντάφτω, σκουντουφλώ, παραπατάω, βαδίζω τρεκλίζοντας, κομπιάζω
n. - πρόσκομμα, σκουντούφλημα, (μτφ.) γκάφα, ατόπημα, ολίσθημα

idioms:

• stumble on    ανταμώνω ή συναντώ τυχαία, σκοντάφτω (πάνω σε)
• stumbling block    πρόσκομμα, σκάνδαλο, πέτρα σκανδάλου

Italiano (Italian)
fare errori, zoppicare, incespicare, balbettare, inciampata

idioms:

• stumble on    capitare su
• stumbling block    ostacolo

Português (Portuguese)
v. - tropeçar
n. - tropeço (m)

idioms:

• stumble on    topar com
• stumbling block    pedra de tropeço

Русский (Russian)
спотыкание, ложный шаг, спотыкаться, ставить подножку, идти спотыкаясь, запинаться, случайно натыкаться, совершить ошибку, сомневаться, озадачивать

idioms:

• stumble on    натолкнуться на
• stumbling block    камень преткновения

Español (Spanish)
v. intr. - tropezar, dar un traspié, equivocarse o embarullarse al hablar
v. tr. - ir dando traspiés, balbucear, tartamudear
n. - tropezón, traspié, desliz

idioms:

• stumble on    tropezar o dar con, encontrar
• stumbling block    tropiezo, escollo

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - snava, snubbla, staka sig, stamma, falla, fela, synda
n. - snavande, snubblande, snubbling, misstag

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
绊倒, 失策, 失足, 使绊倒, 使困惑

idioms:

• stumble on    无意中发现
• stumbling block    绊脚石, 阻碍物, 困难, 障碍

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
v. intr. - 絆倒, 失策, 失足
v. tr. - 使絆倒, 使困惑
n. - 絆倒, 失策

idioms:

• stumble on    無意中發現
• stumbling block    絆腳石, 阻礙物, 困難, 障礙

한국어 (Korean)
v. intr. - ~에 채어 비틀거리다, 우연히 마주치다, 망설이다
v. tr. - 비틀거리게 하다, 난처하게 하다
n. - 비틀거림, 실패(도덕적 과오)

idioms:

• stumble on    발부리를 채다, 우연히 만나다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - つまずき, よろめき, しくじり, 失敗
v. - つまずく, よろめきながら歩く, ことばがつかえる, どもる

idioms:

• stumble on    ～につまづく

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يعثر, يغلط, تلعثم (الاسم) عثرة, كبوة‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. intr. - ‮נכשל, מעד, גמגם, נע בחוסר-יציבות, נתקל ב-‬
v. tr. - ‮מעד, גמגם, נע בחוסר-יציבות, פגש‬
n. - ‮מעידה, גמגום‬

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