bumble
To act or move in an awkward or confused mannerTo act or move in an awkward or confused manner (often clumsily, incompetently, or carelessly).
» The bumbling waiter spilled soup on a customer.
Неуклюжий официант пролил на посетителя суп.
Meaning
6 senses(intransitive)To act or move in an awkward or confused manner (often clumsily, incompetently, or carelessly).
Spiders build webs and wait for insects to bumble into them.
herumeiern
(transitive)To carry out (a task) clumsily, incompetently, or with many careless mistakes; to bungle, to botch.
(intransitive)To boom, as a Eurasian bittern.
(intransitive)To buzz or bum.
(intransitive)To speak in a rambling, incoherent, or indistinct manner, especially at tedious length.
(obsolete, transitive)To grumble at; to blame.
- speak haltingly
- walk unsteadily, tripping repeatedly
- make a mess of, destroy or ruin
Examples
3 sentencesThe bumbling waiter spilled soup on a customer.
ruНеуклюжий официант пролил на посетителя суп.
I bumbled through my presentation and forgot my main points.
Tom was known mainly for the bumbling characters he played in television films from the 70s and 80s.
deTom erlangte vor allem durch seine Trottelrollen in den Fernsehfilmen der 70er und 80er Bekanntheit.
Translations
1 languagesBy meaning 1
Origin
Onomatopoeia. Compare bungle, jumble, and fumble. * Verb: Frequentative of boom and/or buOnomatopoeia. Compare bungle, jumble, and fumble.
* Verb: Frequentative of boom and/or bum, equivalent to bum + -le.
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Forms
bumbles, bumbling, bumbled, bumbledSynonyms
27 synonymsWord family
13 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle