How to Use fumble in a Sentence

fumble

1 of 2 verb
  • She fumbled in her pocket for her keys.
  • They fumbled a good opportunity to take control of the market.
  • He fumbled the ball on the 20-yard line.
  • He was hit hard and fumbled on the 20-yard line.
  • Trump said, fumbling for words.
    — Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 9 June 2026
  • In turn, the Heat fumbled it away.
    — Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 10 Feb. 2026
  • The Raiders have fumbled just once.
    — Andrew Greif, NBC news, 19 Oct. 2025
  • Drake Maye has fumbled three times.
    — CBS News, 18 Jan. 2026
  • Kennedy fumbled the ball away on its first play from scrimmage.
    — Steve Fryer, Oc Register, 19 Sep. 2025
  • Bags were dropped, keys fumbled for, and the ring was rescued.
    — Erika Veurink, Vogue, 27 Sep. 2023
  • Helix scored and went for two points to win, but fumbled the snap.
    — John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Nov. 2025
  • Kennedy fumbled in his pocket and pulled out his phone, the source of the noise.
    — Meredith Kile, PEOPLE, 7 Jan. 2026
  • Maye has been sacked 10 times in the last two games and fumbled six times.
    — Nick Kosmider, New York Times, 24 Jan. 2026
  • Avoid fumbling with bottles and pop corks in just a few seconds.
    — Samantha Booth, Rolling Stone, 10 Nov. 2023
  • Eliminate the need to fumble with a set of tiny spoons with this gift.
    — Molly Allen, Southern Living, 7 Dec. 2023
  • In the first quarter, he was sacked on third-and-7 and fumbled the ball.
    — Michael-Shawn Dugar, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2025
  • Pribula fumbled for the scoop-and-score in the first quarter.
    — Maddie Hartley, Kansas City Star, 6 Sep. 2025
  • The fact that Jones hasn't fumbled yet, though, is a bit of a surprise.
    — Nick Suss, Nashville Tennessean, 18 Sep. 2025
  • As the years went by, judges complained that the city’s in-house lawyers had fumbled key casework.
    — Joe Mahr, Chicago Tribune, 29 Mar. 2026
  • The Honda backs up a few feet as the agent fumbles at the door handle.
    — George Petras, USA Today, 8 Jan. 2026
  • The Trojans could have tied the game on the drive on which Lloyd fumbled.
    — Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times, 27 Oct. 2023
  • Last season, Daniels fumbled the ball twice in the last five minutes.
    — Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 21 Oct. 2025
  • Louis-Dreyfus does not fumble her sentences or search for words.
    — Matt Donnelly, Variety, 17 Jan. 2023
  • Aragon fumbled for the right words to describe the emotions that followed.
    — Sam Cohn, Baltimore Sun, 25 Mar. 2023
  • But then again, neither is the Bears fumbling and bumbling.
    — Jon Greenberg, New York Times, 2 June 2026
  • This came one drive after Toney fumbled near midfield.
    — Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 23 Jan. 2026
  • The sophomore had fumbled at the end of a 44-yard run late in the third quarter.
    — Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 21 Sep. 2025
  • But there’s a risk the Commission will fumble.
    — Parmy Olson, Twin Cities, 26 Apr. 2026
  • But there’s a risk the Commission will fumble.
    — Parmy Olson, Mercury News, 25 Apr. 2026
  • The whole series comes down to the Cavs fumbling away Game 1.
    — Joe Vardon, New York Times, 24 May 2026

fumble

2 of 2 noun
  • He was sacked twice and lost a fumble.
    — Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 20 Oct. 2025
  • Two were fumbles and two were picks.
    — Laurence Miedema, Mercury News, 29 Sep. 2025
  • Texas Tech lost both its fumbles.
    — Susan Miller Degnan, Miami Herald, 2 Jan. 2026
  • So Dart’s fumble didn’t count as a turnover.
    — Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 22 Aug. 2025
  • Robinson even coughed up a fumble in the red zone.
    — Miami Herald, 26 Oct. 2025
  • There’s a time and place for trying to force fumbles.
    — Joseph Hoyt, Dallas Morning News, 26 Mar. 2026
  • Oweh had a third sack, forcing a fumble.
    — Nick Canepa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Jan. 2026
  • The fourth-quarter fumble may not have been his fault.
    — Nick Canepa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Sep. 2025
  • Where the movie fumbles is taking its foot off the gas, so to speak.
    — Brian Truitt, USA Today, 2 Oct. 2025
  • Arnold was very close to the goal line before the fumble was called.
    — Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 12 Oct. 2025
  • Slayton’s fumble set off the string of turnovers.
    — Dan Duggan, New York Times, 6 Oct. 2025
  • Could’ve won, if not for losing three of the game’s four fumbles.
    — Alex Kirshner, New York Times, 12 Oct. 2025
  • The Red Hawks lost two fumbles in the red zone.
    — John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Sep. 2025
  • The second fumble sealed the game.
    — Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 21 Oct. 2025
  • Daniels dove on his own fumble after a 7-yard gain.
    — Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 8 Nov. 2025
  • There was also a bad fumble on a snap out of shotgun.
    — David Aldridge, New York Times, 5 Jan. 2026
  • Maye lost the football for a second fumble in the game.
    — February 9, CBS News, 9 Feb. 2026
  • Hoecht had two sacks and forced a fumble against the Seahawks.
    — Los Angeles Times, 8 Dec. 2022
  • Ward had more fumbles than all but three players in the nation.
    — Adam Lichtenstein, Sun Sentinel, 16 Jan. 2024
  • Each guy also lost a fumble to end a promising drive.
    — Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 29 Aug. 2025
  • The Hoosiers have lost one fumble this season.
    — Kevin Sherrington, Dallas Morning News, 19 Jan. 2026
  • Even after a few fumbles, the hand warmer showed no scratches.
    — Lacey Muinos, Health, 27 July 2023
  • Alas, Oladokun lost the first of his two fumbles two snaps later.
    — Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 5 Jan. 2026
  • Here’s a quiz for everyone who doesn’t know a fumble from a field goal.
    — J. Mark Powell, Hartford Courant, 7 Feb. 2026
  • Maye has the most fumbles in the NFL this year.
    — Trevor Woods, Forbes.com, 22 Jan. 2026
  • Plus, Dart had a careless fumble.
    — Michael Salfino, New York Times, 6 Oct. 2025
  • Hurts was still moving on the play, which looked like a fumble to those watching.
    — Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 7 Nov. 2025
  • That included two fumbles near the goal line.
    — Matt Schooley, CBS News, 12 Jan. 2026
  • Small couldn’t reel in a screen pass behind the line of scrimmage and it was ruled a fumble.
    — Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 Oct. 2025
  • But hold on… Ed Oliver just forced a fumble.
    — Coy Wire, CNN Money, 8 Sep. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fumble.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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