bumble
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
v.to move or act in an awkward, clumsy, or confused way.
v.to move or act in an awkward, clumsy, or stumbling manner, often due to a lack of coordination or confidence.
Simple“He bumbled around the dark room, trying to find the light switch.”
In context“The new intern bumbled through the office, accidentally knocking over a stack of files while searching for the printer.”
- 02 C1 Advanced
v.to speak in a confused way for a long time, often making it hard for others to understand.
v.to speak in a rambling, incoherent, or indistinct manner, typically at tedious length.
Simple“The speaker began to bumble, losing his place in the notes.”
In context“The politician began to bumble when asked about the specific details of the budget, failing to provide a coherent answer.”
Antonyms - 03 B2 Upper Intermediate
v.to do a job or task very badly or with many mistakes.
v.to perform a task clumsily or incompetently; to bungle or botch an assignment.
Simple“The team bumbled the project so badly that they had to start over.”
In context“The administration bumbled the rollout of the new software, leading to widespread system failures across the entire department.”
- 04 C2 Proficiency
n.a short name for a bumblebee.
n.a colloquial or dialectal term for a bumblebee.
Simple“A large bumble landed on the flower in the garden.”
In context“The children watched a fuzzy bumble move from clover to clover in the meadow.”
Synonyms
Onomatopoeia. Compare bungle, jumble, and fumble.
* Verb: Frequentative of boom and/or bum, equivalent to bum + -le. * Noun: From the verb.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.