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Glite Dictionary
🏈 A dropped ball 🏈 To drop the ball 🤲 To search clumsily 😬 To make mistakes
to fumble

to fumble

39 4.8
To move your hands clumsily while trying to find something
  • verb
  • /ˈfʌmbəl/
translation icon : hurgar
  • Then he was walking toward me, impatiently fumbling around in a pocket of his jumpsuit.
  • fumble around

And so I'm trying to fumble with my tourniquet, but I'm in shock.

Examples

  • Most storage options force you to fumble with keys or gamble on a battery that might fail when it matters most.

  • Trying not to panic, I rescued the canvas and fumbled with the easel.

    Academic text (2012)

  • "Who lives here besides you?" Amber asked, as I fumbled in the darkness for my key.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • Abby stood outside her door and fumbled through her purse looking for keys.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • While waiting for his chauffeur, he fumbled for his pocket watch, creature of habit that he was.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • "I don't know what to say," she said, fumbling with the glasses and coasters.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • We kissed, and then I fumbled for some Tic Tacs.

    Walk of Shame (2014)

  • Frantically, he tossed his rucksack onto the bed and fumbled away, looking for the piece of paper.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • As I tried to open the box, I fumbled with the latch and almost dropped it.

  • She fumbled for her phone in her bag while walking through the crowded street.

Synonyms

to rummage
vsto fumble
35 3.8

To search through things quickly by moving them around

focuses on awkward hand handling or searching rather than moving things
to grope
vsto fumble
21 6.3

To feel for something with your hands when you cannot see

is about clumsy or awkward handling rather than just searching by touch
to grope for
vsto fumble
6 7.1

To feel with your hands to find something in the dark

is broader clumsy handling not limited to reaching by touch in darkness
to scrabble
vsto fumble
5 6.5

To feel around with your hands to find something

is about clumsy or awkward hand handling in many situations
to bobble
vsto fumble
2 5.9

To handle something clumsily so you nearly drop it

involves awkward handling or searching without necessarily causing a drop
to foozle
vsto fumble
  • Archaic
9.9

To handle something clumsily and make a mistake often in a game

applies to awkward hand searching or handling across many situations
to gropple
vsto fumble
9.9

To feel around with your hands to find something in the dark

is about clumsy or awkward handling beyond struggle or dark searches

Antonyms

to handle with ease
3.3

Deal with a task or problem easily and with confidence

How Clumsy

to flail
38 5.8
to flounder
26 6.6
to fumble
39 4.8
to grope
21 6.3

Surface Forms

fumble infinitive
fumbled past
fumbled past participle
fumbling present participle
fumbles third person singular

Etymology

Fumble A helpful way to remember fumble is to think of old words that mean 'to feel' or 'to grope' in the dark; imagine someone moving their hands slowly along a wall. So to fumble is to handle or search for something in a clumsy, awkward way.