fumble Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun (sports) dropping the ball
    muff.
  2. verb feel about uncertainly or blindly
    grope.
    • She groped for her glasses in the darkness of the bedroom
  3. verb make one's way clumsily or blindly
    blunder.
    • He fumbled towards the door
  4. verb handle clumsily
  5. verb make a mess of, destroy or ruin
    muck up; foul up; blow; botch up; botch; bollix; mishandle; bollocks; bumble; ball up; bobble; bollocks up; spoil; bollix up; fuck up; fluff; flub; bodge; muff; louse up; mess up; screw up; bungle.
    • I botched the dinner and we had to eat out
    • the pianist screwed up the difficult passage in the second movement
  6. verb drop or juggle or fail to play cleanly a grounder
    • fumble a grounder

WordNet

Fum"ble intransitive verb
Etymology
Akin to D. fommelen to crumple, fumble, Sw. fumla to fusuble, famla to grope, Dan. famle to grope, fumble, Icel. falme, AS. folm palm of the hand. See Feel, and cf. Fanble, Palm.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Fumbled ; present participle & verbal noun Fumbling
Definitions
  1. To feel or grope about; to make awkward attempts to do or find something.
    Adams now began to fumble in his pockets. Fielding.
  2. To grope about in perplexity; to seek awkwardly; as, to fumble for an excuse. Dryden.
    My understanding flutters and my memory fumbles. Chesterfield.
    Alas! how he fumbles about the domains. Wordsworth.
  3. To handle much; to play childishly; to turn over and over.
    I saw him fumble with the sheets, and play with flowers. Shak.
Fum"ble transitive verb
Definitions
  1. To handle or manage awkwardly; to crowd or tumble together. Shak.

Webster 1913