stumbled

Stumbled is the past tense and past participle of the verb stumble. It denotes a momentary loss of balance while walking or running, often resulting in a stumble, trip, or brief fall. Stumbling can be caused by an uneven surface, an obstacle, fatigue, or distraction, and it can occur in everyday movement as well as in activities that require precise footing.

Beyond the physical sense, stumbled can describe difficulties in speech, thought, or planning. For example, a speaker might stumble over a difficult word, or a project might stumble due to setbacks or poor timing. The term is frequently used in phrases such as stumble upon, stumble across, or stumble into, all of which convey finding something unexpectedly or entering a situation unintentionally.

The phrase stumble upon or stumble across means to discover something by accident. Stumbling into a situation implies arriving there somewhat unexpectedly or unintentionally. In idiomatic usage, stumbling blocks refer to obstacles that hamper progress. A person might be described as stumbling through a task when progress is hesitant, incomplete, or awkward rather than smooth and confident.

Grammar and usage notes: stumble is a regular verb. The principal parts are stumble, stumbled, stumbling. Common collocations include stumble and fall, stumble upon, stumble across, and stumble over a word. The term appears in many domains, including everyday speech, literature, journalism, and instruction, with nuance ranging from literal loss of balance to figurative difficulties.