as in to buzz
to fly, turn, or move rapidly with a fluttering or vibratory sound
a fly bumbling around the room while we were trying to sleep
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1
as in to fumble
to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way
accused the White House staff of bumbling the announcement of the replacement for the cabinet post
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2
as in to stumble
to proceed or act clumsily or ineffectually
I sort of bumbled through the dance number, hoping that it would soon end
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3
as in to chat
to speak rapidly, inarticulately, and usually unintelligibly
overcome with stage fright, I could only bumble through the speech
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Recent Examples of bumble
Richard Edwards, Space.com, 29 May 2025
Their pet platypus, Perry (Dee Bradley Baker), who continues his double life as the suave Agent P, who's always one step ahead of Dr. Doofenshmirtz (Dan Povenmire), the bumbling evil scientist trying to take over the Tri-State Area.
—EW.com, 7 June 2025
The reboot, directed by Chip ‘n Dale’s Akiva Schaffer (age 47), is being shepherded by Seth MacFarlane and Paramount, with Liam Neeson in the role of bumbling cop Frank Drebin — the part originated by Leslie Nielsen in 1988’s The Naked Gun — and Pamela Anderson as the femme fatale.
—Benjamin Svetkey, HollywoodReporter, 7 May 2025
For three chaotic days in early March, manufacturers, distributors and customs agents in a desert industrial park near El Paso bumbled their way through as goods entering the United States from Mexico were briefly hit with a 25 percent tariff.
—Danielle Kaye, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bumble
Verb
The cosmic hobo bumbled his way across the universe facing Daleks, and Cybermen, as well as the Great Intelligence, and Ice Warriors.
12.
—Richard Edwards, Space.com, 29 May 2025
Their pet platypus, Perry (Dee Bradley Baker), who continues his double life as the suave Agent P, who's always one step ahead of Dr. Doofenshmirtz (Dan Povenmire), the bumbling evil scientist trying to take over the Tri-State Area.
—EW.com, 7 June 2025
The reboot, directed by Chip ‘n Dale’s Akiva Schaffer (age 47), is being shepherded by Seth MacFarlane and Paramount, with Liam Neeson in the role of bumbling cop Frank Drebin — the part originated by Leslie Nielsen in 1988’s The Naked Gun — and Pamela Anderson as the femme fatale.
—Benjamin Svetkey, HollywoodReporter, 7 May 2025
For three chaotic days in early March, manufacturers, distributors and customs agents in a desert industrial park near El Paso bumbled their way through as goods entering the United States from Mexico were briefly hit with a 25 percent tariff.
—Danielle Kaye, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bumble
Cite this Entry
“Bumble.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bumble. Accessed 21 Jul. 2025.
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