bumble

English

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈbʌmbəl/
  • (file)
  • Rhymes: -ʌmbəl

Etymology 1

Onomatopoeia. Compare bungle, jumble, and fumble.

Noun

bumble (plural bumbles)

  1. A confusion; a jumble.

Verb

bumble (third-person singular simple present bumbles, present participle bumbling, simple past and past participle bumbled)

  1. To act in an inept, clumsy or inexpert manner; to make mistakes.
    Spiders build webs and wait for insects to bumble into them.
Translations
Derived terms

Etymology 2

  • Verb: Frequentative of boom and/or bum, equivalent to bum + -le.
  • Noun: From the verb.

Verb

bumble (third-person singular simple present bumbles, present participle bumbling, simple past and past participle bumbled)

  1. (intransitive) To boom, as a bittern; to buzz, as a fly.

Noun

bumble (plural bumbles)

  1. A bumble-bee.
  2. (Britain, dialectal) The bittern.
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