Meaning & use
fumble
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Meanings
verbintransitive
To use your hands clumsily while searching for or handling something.
Grammar: Often followed by 'for' or 'with': fumble for the keys.
Patterns
- fumble for something
- fumble with something
- fumble around
He fumbled for the light switch in the dark.
She fumbled with the zipper on her coat.
I fumbled in my bag for my phone.
verbtransitive or intransitivesport
To drop or lose hold of a ball, especially in American football, so the other side can take it.
Grammar: Can take the ball as an object or stand alone.
Patterns
- fumble the ball
The running back fumbled the ball near the goal line.
The receiver fumbled on the first play.
verbtransitivefigurative
To handle a task or speech badly, making mistakes through nervousness or lack of skill.
Grammar: Takes an object such as words or an opportunity.
Patterns
- fumble the question
- fumble for words
She fumbled the answer in the interview.
He fumbled for words when asked about the mistake.
nouncountable
An act of dropping the ball in a game, or any clumsy mistake.
Grammar: Count noun: a costly fumble.
Patterns
- a fumble by someone
The fumble cost the team the game.
His fumble in the speech made the crowd laugh.
Word forms
| third person singular | fumbles |
|---|---|
| past tense | fumbled |
| past participle | fumbled |
| -ing form | fumbling |
Common combinations
- fumble for
- He fumbled for his keys.
- fumble with
- She fumbled with the lock.
- fumble the ball
- The player fumbled the ball.
- fumble around
- They fumbled around in the dark.
- fumble for words
- He fumbled for words at the podium.
Synonyms and how they differ
- grope
- Grope means feeling about with the hands, usually in darkness, without the clumsiness that fumble suggests.
- bungle
- Bungle means to ruin a task through carelessness, not only with the hands.
- drop
- Drop is plain and can be deliberate, while fumble means an accidental loss of grip.
- botch
- Botch means to do a job badly, and is more informal.
Opposites
Word family
- fumbler noun
- a clumsy person
- fumbling adjective
- clumsy or hesitant
- fumblingly adverb
- in a clumsy way
Commonly confused: fumble or mumble?
fumble vs mumble
Mumble means speaking unclearly; fumble is clumsy handling, though they rhyme.
Practice
In the dark, I had to ____ for the light switch.
Choose one answer.
Fumble for means to search clumsily with the hands. Fasten and forge do not take 'for' with this meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “fumble”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.