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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.

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

From Salon • Jan. 21, 2026

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 • Dec. 25, 2025

“I often fantasized that one day my dad would stumble across my face on a magazine cover and be overcome with regret for not getting to know such a wonderful girl,” writes Ione Skye.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 4, 2025

At one point, when asked if he brought classified material from the West Wing or Naval Observatory to his lake house in Wilmington, Delaware, Biden quipped about what someone in the home might stumble across:

From Slate • Mar. 13, 2024

Did she stumble across something she ought not to have done, as the two young men sat practicing for their attempt at glory and domination?

From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling

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.