stumble

5 definitions • 9 examples

to step awkwardly while walking or running and fall or begin to fall:

Running along the beach, she stumbled on a log and fell on the sand.

In the final straight Meyers stumbled, and although he didn't fall it was enough to lose him first place.

to walk in a way that does not seem controlled:

We could hear her stumbling about/around the bedroom in the dark.

He pulled on his clothes and stumbled into the kitchen.

to make a mistake, such as repeating something or pausing for too long, while speaking or playing a piece of music:

When the poet stumbled over a line in the middle of a poem, someone in the audience corrected him.

to hit your foot against something while walking and almost fall, or to walk awkwardly as if you might fall:

She stumbled over a toy.

He stumbled around in the dark.

to make a mistake, or to pause unexpectedly when speaking:

He stumbled through several early career choices.

Several times the reader stumbled over lines in the poem.