stumblebum

noun

Definition of stumblebumnext
1
as in palooka

Related Words

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2
as in fumbler

Related Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of stumblebum The stumblebum energy disarms us, which makes the gruesome cruelty of the kills that much more disturbing. — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 27 Feb. 2026 As opposed to palookas and has-beens and tin cans and stumblebums, a player who got waived departed with his dignity intact. — Joe Queenan, WSJ, 2 Nov. 2018 Gerald Ford, for all his stumblebum image, was a Yale Law School graduate and veteran of legislative details. — James Fallows, The Atlantic, 20 July 2017 The physicians lining up with Teirstein are not a bunch of stumblebums afraid of a few tests. — Kurt Eichenwald, Newsweek, 10 Mar. 2015
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stumblebum
  1. palooka
  2. duffer
  3. slugger
  4. boxer
  5. prizefighter
  6. pugilist
  7. gladiator
  8. pug
Noun
  • Sylvester Stallone's underdog tale about a struggling palooka given one shot at the heavyweight championship is a stirring sports movie with a level of charm and sweetness that dissipated in the rounds (and rounds) of sequels that followed.
    — Brian Lowry, CNN, 25 July 2019
  • All this real guts and glory in Philadelphia, yet one of the big tourist attractions is to run up the Art Museum steps the way a palooka named Rocky Balboa did on the silver screen.
    — Bill Livingston, cleveland.com, 1 Jan. 2018
Definition of palooka
Noun
  • Many weekend duffers buy their equipment at Dick’s Sporting Goods .
    — Tom Rotunno, CNBC, 8 Apr. 2026
  • Prior to 2023, when the streamer hosted its first live sports event—the Netflix Cup featured F1 drivers and pro duffers squaring off in a nine-hole match—the company brass were adamant about staying out of that lane.
    — Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 25 Mar. 2026
Definition of duffer
Noun
  • This symbolic gesture is a desperate attempt to spark a turnaround for the slugger, whose power outage follows a recent $500 million extension.
    — Peter Chawaga, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026
  • The star slugger has been able to increase the intensity of baseball activities over the last week, and especially in the last few days.
    — Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of slugger
Noun
  • His father was a former boxer, and his great-uncle Iran Barkley had been a middleweight boxing world champion.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Four suspects in the killing of former world champion boxer Zolani Tete were arrested, South African police said Monday.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of boxer
Noun
  • But Ford had stripped these two unpainted entries down to the chassis, like prizefighters shedding final pounds before weigh-in.
    — Eric Moskowitz, The Atlantic, 31 May 2026
  • The explosive jazz‑rock pianist – known for redefining piano performance with the physicality of a prizefighter and the swagger of a rock guitarist – is set to turn the DIA’s auditorium into something closer to a sonic combustion chamber.
    — Duante Beddingfield, Freep.com, 24 Feb. 2026
Definition of prizefighter
Noun
  • The 50-year-old Ukrainian pugilist was engaged to Panettiere in 2013 during an on-and-off relationship that lasted nearly a decade.
    — Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 18 Aug. 2026
  • The group reached the office of Ilhan Omar, a Democratic congresswoman from Minneapolis who has a reputation as a political pugilist.
    — Andrew Marantz, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of pugilist
Noun
  • Several others were Olympic rowers, with a weightlifter, Olympic gladiator and NASA engineer rounding out the team.
    — Madeleine Kashkooli, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Aug. 2026
  • There’s nothing that gives you that same feel of being the gladiator in the ring.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of gladiator
Noun
  • As a child, Madix would put on shows for her pug, Ming, and a doll of Fievel, the mouse from An American Tail.
    — Anna Peele, Vanity Fair, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Fire officials said the people inside the vehicle were OK, but crews then had to locate and secure a pug that had been riding inside.
    — Cecilio Padilla, CBS News, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of pug

Browse Nearby Words

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Cite this Entry

“Stumblebum.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stumblebum. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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