stumble across/on/onto/upon
idiom
: to find or learn about (something) unexpectedly
I stumbled across/on/upon this book by chance.
We stumbled onto/across the ruins of an old fort.
They stumbled on/upon a bizarre plot.
He stumbled onto the truth.
Examples of stumble across/on/onto/upon in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Clip-On Earrings When rummaging through a grandmother's jewelry box, you're almost guaranteed to stumble upon a pair of clip-on earrings.
—
Nicole Letts, Southern Living, 1 June 2025
And then there are those, like Mia, who stumble on their birth families inadvertently.
—Barbara Demick, New Yorker, 23 May 2025
The film watches as a misfit group of unwitting high school students stumble upon a cursed object, an ancient Aztec Death Whistle.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 19 May 2025
And for the littlest patriots, PBS Kids will premiere Map Zappers, a new series from Arkansas PBS that follows three ordinary kids who stumble across a museum exhibit that contains artifacts from every U.S. state and territory.
—Tony Maglio, HollywoodReporter, 19 May 2025
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Nicole Letts, Southern Living, 1 June 2025
And then there are those, like Mia, who stumble on their birth families inadvertently.
—Barbara Demick, New Yorker, 23 May 2025
The film watches as a misfit group of unwitting high school students stumble upon a cursed object, an ancient Aztec Death Whistle.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 19 May 2025
And for the littlest patriots, PBS Kids will premiere Map Zappers, a new series from Arkansas PBS that follows three ordinary kids who stumble across a museum exhibit that contains artifacts from every U.S. state and territory.
—Tony Maglio, HollywoodReporter, 19 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for stumble across/on/onto/upon
Cite this Entry
“Stumble across/on/onto/upon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stumble%20across%2Fon%2Fonto%2Fupon. Accessed 5 Jun. 2025.
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