fum ‧ ble /ˈfʌmb ə l/ BrE AmE verb
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Origin: Probably from a Scandinavian language ]
1 . ( also fumble around ) [intransitive and transitive] to try to hold, move, or find something with your hands in an awkward way
fumble at/in/with
She dressed, her cold fingers fumbling with the buttons.
fumble for
I fumbled around in my bag for a cigarette.
She reached round to fumble the light on.
2 . [intransitive and transitive] if you fumble with your words when you are speaking, you have difficulty saying something
fumble for
Asked for an explanation, Mike had fumbled for words.
The second candidate fumbled her lines.
3 . [intransitive and transitive] to drop a ball after catching it:
Quarterback Rattay was hit and fumbled the ball.
—fumble noun [countable]
—fumbling noun [countable]