stumbling

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stumble

A stumbling person is someone who's having trouble walking or moving around safely. They might trip over something, lose their balance, or not see an obstacle.

Stumbling can happen to anyone, but it often gets used to describe situations where people are struggling with a new task or activity. For example, if you're learning a new sport and keep dropping the ball, people might say you're stumbling at first. It's like your body is getting used to moving in new ways, and sometimes that means making mistakes.

How common is "stumbling"?

Word stumbling is considered rare in modern English.
It has a balanced usage among all categories: speech, fiction, newspapers and academic texts.

Definitions

verb

To trip or fall; to walk clumsily.
Example: He stumbled over a rock.
To make a mistake or have trouble.
Example: I always stumble over verbs in Spanish.
To cause to stumble or trip.
To mislead; to confound; to cause to err or to fall.
To strike or happen (upon a person or thing) without design; to fall or light by chance; with on, upon, or against.