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Synonyms

stumble across

Idioms  

  1. Also, stumble on. Find by chance, discover or meet with unexpectedly. For example, When we were hiking up the mountain we stumbled across a few abandoned shepherd's huts, or At the flea market Alfred stumbled on a quite valuable old lithograph. This idiom uses stumble in the sense of “accidentally trip.” [Mid-1500s]

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Scroll through TikTok and you may soon stumble across Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo cutting each other's hair, or boarding the Titanic in Edwardian dress.

From BBC

“Unless you stumble across a nest of gator eggs,” Rashawn added.

From Literature

The communal misery was intense if you happened to stumble across some sad pool of it.

From Salon

If you're worried a relative might stumble across the item they'd bought you while they bargain hunt you can always donate to a charity shop outside of your local area.

From BBC

They could understand why this very bright guy rooting around in financial statements might stumble across a small company no one else was paying attention to.

From Literature

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.