FUMBLE

[verb] - to do something awkwardly, esp. when using your handsHe fumbled in his pockets for some change. [I usually + adverb or preposition]When I had to make a speech, I was so nervous that I fumbled with my notes and dropped them. [I usually + adverb or preposition]She fumbled around/about in her handbag, looking for her key. [I usually + adverb or preposition]They fumbled (around/about) (= moved awkwardly) in the dark, trying to find their way out of the cinema. [I usually + adverb or preposition]At night this car park is full of couples fumbling (= involved in nervous and awkward sexual activity) in the back seats of cars. [I usually + adverb or preposition](figurative) Instead of fumbling for (= trying to think of) the right word to say, why don't you look it up? [I usually + adverb or preposition]If Wilson hadn't fumbled that catch (= failed to catch the ball), we might have won the match. [T]