make an error; "She slipped up and revealed the name" miss a step and fall or nearly fall; "She stumbled over the tree root" walk unsteadily; "The drunk man stumbled about" encounter by chance; "I stumbled across a long-lost cousin last night in a restaurant
If you stumble while you are reading aloud or speaking, you make a mistake, and have to pause before saying the words properly. his voice wavered and he stumbled over the words at one point
If you stumble, you put your foot down awkwardly while you are walking or running and nearly fall over. He stumbled and almost fell I stumbled into the telephone box and dialed 999. Stumble is also a noun. I make it into the darkness with only one stumble
an unintentional but embarrassing blunder; "he recited the whole poem without a single trip"; "he arranged his robes to avoid a trip-up later"; "confusion caused his unfortunate misstep"
[ 'st&m-b&l ] (verb.) 14th century. Middle English, probably of Scandinavian origin; akin to Norwegian dialect stumle to stumble; akin to Old Norse stemma to hinder; more at STEM.