Stumble upon Meaning in English
expression
ˈstəmbəɫ/ /əˈpɑn
STUM-buhl uh-PAHN
stˈʌmbəl/ /əpˈɒn
STUM-buhl uh-PON
Definition
To find or discover something by accident, without looking for it.
Usage & Nuances
Informal and often used for pleasant or surprising discoveries. Common with objects, places, or ideas: 'stumble upon an old photo'. Not used for meeting people intentionally; often replaced by 'come across'. Usually followed by 'something', not 'someone'.
Spanish: encontrar por casualidad - toparse conPortuguese (BR): encontrar por acaso - deparar-se comPortuguese (PT): encontrar por acaso - deparar-se comChinese (Simplified): 偶然发现 - 偶遇Chinese (Traditional): 偶然發現 - 偶遇Hindi: अचानक मिलना - संयोग से पानाArabic: يَعْثُر على بالصدفة - يُصادِفBengali: হঠাৎ পেয়ে যাওয়া - আকস্মিকভাবে খোঁজে পাওয়াRussian: случайно наткнуться - случайно обнаружитьJapanese: 偶然見つける - たまたま出会うVietnamese: tình cờ phát hiện - vô tình bắt gặpKorean: 우연히 발견하다 - 우연히 마주치다Turkish: tesadüfen bulmak - rastlamakUrdu: غیر متوقع طور پر ملنا - اچانک دریافت کرناIndonesian: tidak sengaja menemukan - kebetulan menemukan
Example Sentences
I stumbled upon an old photo in my drawer.
basic
She stumbled upon a small bookstore while walking downtown.
basic
We stumbled upon a solution to the problem last night.
basic
Sometimes you stumble upon the best things when you’re not even looking.
natural
He stumbled upon an interesting article online and shared it with me.
natural
You never know what you’ll stumble upon in a city like this.
natural