bumble along

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈbʌmbəl əˈlɔŋ/
• (cot–caught merger) IPA^(key): /ˈbʌmbəl əˈlɑŋ/

  • Audio (cot–caught merger):

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bumble along (third-person singular simple present bumbles along, present participle bumbling along, simple past and past participle bumbled along)

1. (intransitive) To move slowly or awkwardly along one's way. [from 1898]
2. (intransitive) To live one's life or continue in a course of action without a plan, goal, or guiding principle; to muddle along. [from 1958]

• “to bumble along” under “bumble, v.²”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.