Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- intransitive verb To touch or handle nervously or idly.
- intransitive verb To grope awkwardly to find or to accomplish something.
- intransitive verb To proceed awkwardly and uncertainly; blunder.
- intransitive verb Football To drop a ball that is in play.
- intransitive verb Baseball To mishandle a ground ball.
- intransitive verb To touch or handle clumsily or idly.
- intransitive verb To make a mess of; bungle. synonym: botch.
- intransitive verb To feel or make (one's way) awkwardly.
- intransitive verb Football To drop (a ball) while in play.
- intransitive verb Baseball To mishandle (a ground ball).
- noun The act or an instance of fumbling.
- noun Sports A ball that has been fumbled.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To feel or grope about blindly or clumsily; hence, to make awkward attempts; seek or search for something awkwardly.
- To stutter; stammer; hesitate in speech; mumble.
- To find by groping; secure or ascertain by feeling about blindly or clumsily.
- Specifically In base-ball, to stop or catch, as the ball, in such a clumsy manner that an opportunity is lost to put out an opponent.
- To manage awkwardly; crowd or tumble together; jumble.
- noun The act of groping; awkward attempt; aimless search.
- noun In base-ball, foot-ball, and other games, an act of fumbling.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb To handle or manage awkwardly; to crowd or tumble together.
- intransitive verb To feel or grope about; to make awkward attempts to do or find something.
- intransitive verb To grope about in perplexity; to seek awkwardly.
- intransitive verb To handle much; to play childishly; to turn over and over.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb transitive, intransitive To
idly touch ornervously handle - verb transitive, intransitive To
grope awkwardly in trying tofind something - verb intransitive To
blunder uncertainly - verb transitive, intransitive, sports To
drop aball or abaton etc. - noun sports A ball etc. that has been dropped
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb make a mess of, destroy or ruin
- verb handle clumsily
- noun (sports) dropping the ball
- verb make one's way clumsily or blindly
- verb drop or juggle or fail to play cleanly a grounder
- verb feel about uncertainly or blindly
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Still, that same defense provided a touchdown and came up with the nail-in-the-coffin fumble at the end.
NFL Replay: 'Almost' is no solace after Cardinals' letdown 2009
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Pirates QB Patrick Pinkney hopes for a fast start to erase the memories of his overtime fumble from a week ago.
Weekend Preview: Run for the Rose Bowl starts in the Big Ten 2008
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Later, I managed to catch a fumble from a cluster of all-too-eager fellow nerds.
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Later, I managed to catch a fumble from a cluster of all-too-eager fellow nerds.
May 2006 2006
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ECU's Marcus Hands recovered a Martin fumble at the SMU 34-yard line on the second play of SMU's next possession, leading to Pinkney's second touchdown.
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Woodson recovery of Toomer fumble is negated by an offside penalty on Cowboys 'Stewart to New York 37
USATODAY.com 2003
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Key plays: Russell recovery of Beuerlein fumble at Carolina 36;
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I’d helped her ever since her rheumatism began to make her what she called fumble-fisted.
When Last I Died Mitchell, Gladys, 1901- 1941
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Short recovery of Martin fumble at New York Jets 35
USATODAY.com 2003
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As a prelude to my proposal, which concerns possession of said ball, isn't it time we stopped calling a fumble a fumble?
Russ Wellen: Football in the 20-Teens: No Punting, No Tackling 2010
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