stumble
verb uk/ˈstʌm.bəl/ us/ˈstʌm.bəl/
(WALK)
C2 [ I ]绊脚;绊倒
to step awkwardly while walking or running and fall or begin to fall
Running along the beach, she stumbled on a log and fell on the sand. 她沿着海滩跑步时绊到一块木头上摔倒了。
In the final straight Meyers stumbled, and although he didn't fall it was enough to lose him first place. 迈耶斯在最后的直道上绊了一下，虽然没有摔倒，但也足以使他丢掉第一的位置。
[ I usually + adv/prep ]跌跌撞撞地走，蹒跚而行
to walk in a way that does not seem controlled
We could hear her stumbling about/around the bedroom in the dark. 我们可以听到她摸黑在卧室里跌跌撞撞地走动。
He pulled on his clothes and stumbled into the kitchen. 他披上衣服，摇摇晃晃地走进厨房。
(PAUSE)
C2 [ I ]犯错;磕磕巴巴地说，支吾;不顺畅地演奏
to make a mistake, such as repeating something or pausing for too long, while speaking or playing a piece of music
When the poet stumbled over a line in the middle of a poem, someone in the audience corrected him. 诗人在朗诵一首诗的过程中念错了一句，听众中有人纠正了他。
Phrasal verbs
stumble across/on/upon something/someoneC2 偶然发现；撞见；邂逅
to discover something by chance, or to meet someone by chance
Workmen stumbled upon the mosaic while digging foundations for a new building. 工人们在挖一栋新楼的地基时偶然发现了那幅镶嵌画。
stumble into something 偶然开始做（某事）
to start doing something by chance, without having intended to do it
He had stumbled into teaching English after he finished college. 大学毕业后，因为一个偶然的机会他开始教英语。