How to Use stumble in a Sentence
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The horse isn’t running quite fast enough and stumbles.
—Sara Lang, The Christian Science Monitor, 6 Apr. 2023
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In those six Mountain West road stumbles, the Aztecs were out-shot from the floor in all but one.
—Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Mar. 2024
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The wire on the shore needs to be lighted at night so people can see the wire and not stumble into it as a trap.
—Rachel Clarke, CNN, 18 July 2023
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Henderson opened the season as the consensus No. 1 prospect in the sport, but stumbled out of the gate.
—Jacob Calvin Meyer, Baltimore Sun, 3 July 2023
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Dear Carolyn: At a back-to-school event, a teacher stumbled over my child’s name.
—Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 29 Sep. 2023
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As the day wound down and the last oddballs in full ghillie suits and neon green kilts stumbled off the distillery grounds, the sun was still nowhere near setting.
—Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 31 July 2023
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Early on, their father stumbles into the kitchen and tries to cut a glowing gem out of his body.
—Vulture, 6 June 2023
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Moss was afraid to leave the house, and her teenage son, after receiving racist threats by phone, stumbled at school.
—Timothy Noah, The New Republic, 15 Aug. 2023
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Glen stumbles across a bag of OxyContin and ends up snorting some crushed up pills in his car.
—Korin Miller, Women's Health, 14 Aug. 2023
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But when the film requires Johnson to bump up the energy, the Fifty Shades actress stumbles.
—Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Feb. 2024
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The 1992 paper remained the last word on see-through wood for more than a decade, until a researcher named Lars Berglund stumbled across it.
—Jude Coleman, Smithsonian Magazine, 19 Dec. 2023
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But in recent months, the housing market has stumbled and sales of apartments have plunged.
—Alexandra Stevenson, New York Times, 28 Sep. 2023
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In December 2023, a deer stumbled onto the path of a Daimler truck testing in Texas.
—Trisha Thadani, Washington Post, 31 Mar. 2024
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Imagine going for a leisurely hike and stumbling upon mounds of pasta in the woods.
—Caitlin O'Kane, CBS News, 4 May 2023
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The Cowboys can’t afford to stumble at home here with the first of two showdowns against Philadelphia the next week.
—David Moore, Dallas News, 31 Aug. 2023
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But the Commodores have stumbled in SEC play, and right now are flirting with missing the postseason.
—USA TODAY, 16 Feb. 2024
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This season, as the playoffs have drawn ever nearer, the Heat have stumbled, and Butler has, too.
—Louisa Thomas, The New Yorker, 13 Apr. 2024
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While clearing the land to plant crops, Jessen’s husband stumbled upon a hole in which someone had buried a chunk of metal.
—Jonathan Edwards, Washington Post, 7 July 2023
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Porter stumbled, a handgun falling to his side, and collapsed beside a tree.
—Emily Davies, Washington Post, 26 Oct. 2023
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The couple stumbled on a photo of Julia Roberts wearing a suit that inspired the final look.
—Brenton Blanchet, Peoplemag, 2 June 2023
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When Tristan stumbled over his words, Kourtney spoke up again.
—Joelle Goldstein, Peoplemag, 16 Nov. 2023
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That’s a tricky path that the film occasionally stumbles on.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 6 July 2023
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But it’s told from an outsider’s point of view: a pinch-me-I’m-dreaming day in the life of a nobody who stumbles into the sparkling glitter globe of showbiz.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 1 Sep. 2023
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Republicans did the same with Biden, showing a montage of him stumbling over his words.
—Devlin Barrett, Washington Post, 12 Mar. 2024
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The baby finally asleep, Mars and I would stumble into the dining room to find the table set for three, candles lit, wine poured.
—Mackenzie Chung Fegan, Bon Appétit, 18 Mar. 2024
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But for decades the state has stumbled in getting the word out, resulting in few claiming their benefits.
—Melody Gutierrez, Los Angeles Times, 11 May 2023
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Anyone buying a ticket knows the deal, but imagine stumbling across the film by chance on television.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 26 Jan. 2024
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Sully’s old friends are still stumbling around in a reverie of fond memories and unhealed grief.
—Ron Charles, Washington Post, 18 July 2023
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The 73-year-old Navy veteran stumbled onto the scorching pavement, which severely burned the palms of his hands.
—Ernesto Londoño, New York Times, 17 Aug. 2023
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Her mother-in-law and husband carried her on their shoulders, stumbling between tents in the pitch-black night, somehow managing to avoid shelling, airstrikes, and stray dogs.
—Ghada Abdulfattah, The Christian Science Monitor, 10 Apr. 2024
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In the group stage, a stumble against Hungary was their first loss in the Olympics since 2008.
—Ava Wallace, Anchorage Daily News, 7 Aug. 2021
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What to say when things go wrong Have a go-to line ready in case of a stumble.
—Lila MacLellan, Fortune, 17 Mar. 2023
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The longer Biden is out on the campaign trail, the greater the chance of a damaging stumble.
—David Lauter, Los Angeles Times, 19 Apr. 2023
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But a stumble down the stretch would keep UC out of the dance for the second-straight season.
—Keith Jenkins, The Enquirer, 9 Feb. 2022
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Cronin’s point: Even the greats had to push through early stumbles.
—Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 31 Jan. 2024
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But Aird is trying to come back from a stumble of her own.
—Gregory S. Schneider, Washington Post, 30 May 2023
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Then there was the stumble on No. 8, and the grimace in obvious pain.
—Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 19 May 2022
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But the major tournaments have been the scenes of stumbles.
—Alan Blinder, New York Times, 15 June 2023
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But for most of the season’s first 2½ months, too many of these young Bruins’ steps have been stumbles.
—Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times, 19 Jan. 2024
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But now, five years removed from his stumble, Bromell is headed to the Tokyo Olympics.
—oregonlive, 20 June 2021
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That being said, the stats are in and the rich experienced a bit of a stumble from their great heights a year ago.
—Chloe Berger, Fortune, 8 Sep. 2023
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All the ingredients for a stumble out of the gate against Stanford are present.
—Dallas News, 15 Dec. 2022
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And yes, there seems to be a perception that Trump looks and acts younger than Biden, who has had a stumble or two.
—Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2023
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But the story is much more complex than that, and the rest of the story is one in which CIA largely shined, with a few stumbles.
—CBS News, 15 Mar. 2023
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That outlook helped the Sox shrug off Matt Barnes’s game-tying stumble in the ninth and being down to its final strike in the 10th.
—BostonGlobe.com, 23 Aug. 2021
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Of course, a potential showdown with the Fighting Irish will not mean as much should there be a stumble along the way.
—Tom Layberger, Forbes, 21 Sep. 2021
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Any stumble, though, and the door is open for shots at the program’s virality.
—Los Angeles Times, 8 Jan. 2023
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The Chargers also had a costly stumble against the Texans.
—Jeremy Cluff, The Arizona Republic, 28 Dec. 2021
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While the Nets and Bruins stumble and fumble around, the Celtics are finding their footing.
—Tara Sullivan, BostonGlobe.com, 5 Nov. 2022
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In one clip, Legendary ran through the house before taking a tiny stumble as his mom tended to him.
—Hannah Sacks, Peoplemag, 24 Nov. 2023
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What happened at Arlington, when the Longhorns were outscored 20-4, wasn’t the only stumble.
—Chuck Carlton, Dallas News, 1 June 2021
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Of the four teams in playoff position, the Trojans can least afford a stumble.
—Eddie Timanus, USA TODAY, 2 Dec. 2022
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Combine this stumble with the impact of the Afghanistan withdrawal and the UK seems to be in a diplomatic quagmire.
—Felicia Jackson, Forbes, 23 Sep. 2021
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This particular late-game stumble may have hurt more, too, because of what was on the line.
—Kevin Reynolds Reporter, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 July 2021
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The first stumble, the Sept. 11 loss to Oregon, has seemingly been confronted and solved.
—Nathan Baird, cleveland, 28 July 2022
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Fellow Japanese skater Shoma Uno had a stumble of his own, on a quad flip, but earned bronze.
—Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 9 Feb. 2022
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The rare times the Crimson Tide stumble, a mobile, strong-armed quarterback proves to be their kryptonite.
—Edgar Thompson, orlandosentinel.com, 11 Sep. 2021
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Over the course of a life with more stumbles than triumphs, Mr. Johnson, 44, has experienced a fair amount of heartache.
—Ernesto Londoño David Guttenfelder, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2023
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Then call it another big stumble in a season full of potholes that excuses can’t fill.
—Helene Elliott, Los Angeles Times, 4 Jan. 2024
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Mixed economic data Wall Street's focus on earnings this week follows economic data from the previous week that prompted a stumble in the market.
—CBS News, 22 Feb. 2024
Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'stumble.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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