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stumble upon

Meaning in simple English, pronunciation and examples

Pronunciation: US /ˌstʌmbəl əˈpɑn/ · UK /ˌstʌmbəl əˈpɒn/

stumble upon means: To find or discover someone or something by chance, without looking for them.

verb

FIND BY CHANCEB2

To find or discover someone or something by chance, without looking for them.

  • I stumbled upon an old photo.
  • She stumbled upon the answer while reading about something else.
  • Have you ever stumbled upon a useful website by accident?

How to use it: stumble upon someone/something (We stumbled upon a small café while exploring the town.)

Similar words: come across, happen upon, chance upon

Common phrases: stumble upon something, stumble upon someone, stumble upon treasure

MEET BY CHANCEB2

To meet someone when you were not expecting to.

  • I stumbled upon an old friend.
  • You might stumble upon someone you know at the festival.
  • We stumbled upon our former teacher while visiting Rome.

How to use it: stumble upon someone (We stumbled upon an old friend at the market.)

Similar words: run into, bump into, come across

Common phrases: stumble upon someone, stumble upon friends

Questions about stumble upon

What does stumble upon mean?

To find or discover someone or something by chance, without looking for them.

What is stumble upon in other languages?

Türkçe: rastlamak · Español: encontrar por casualidad · Français: tomber sur · Deutsch: zufällig finden · Italiano: imbattersi · 日本語: 偶然見つける

How do you pronounce stumble upon?

In American English /ˌstʌmbəl əˈpɑn/; in British English /ˌstʌmbəl əˈpɒn/.

How do you use stumble upon in a sentence?

I stumbled upon an old photo. She stumbled upon the answer while reading about something else.

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stumble upon in other languages

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