blunder

Inherited from Middle English blundren, blondren (verb) and blunder, blonder (“disturbance, strife”), from the verb; partly from Middle English blondren, a frequentative form of Middle English blonden, blanden ("to mix; mix up"; corresponding to blend +‎ -er); and partly from Middle English blundren, a frequentative form of Middle English blunden (“to stagger; stumble”), from Old Norse blunda (“to shut the eyes; doze”). Cognates include Norwegian blunda (“to shut the eyes; doze”), dialectal Swedish blundra (“to act blindly or rashly”), Danish blunde (“to blink”) or blunde (“to take a nap”), Icelandic blunda (“to nap; doze”). Related to English blind.

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈblʌn.də(ɹ)/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈblʌn.dɚ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʌndə(ɹ)
• Hyphenation: blun‧der

blunder (plural blunders)

1. A clumsy or embarrassing mistake.
2. (chess) A very bad move, usually caused by some tactical oversight.

   Synonym: (symbol) ??

3. (obsolete) Confusion; bewilderment; trouble; disturbance; clamour. [ca. 1375–1774]

• (error): blooper, goof, howler; see also Thesaurus:error

• → Dutch: blunder
• → Swedish: blunder

blunder (third-person singular simple present blunders, present participle blundering, simple past and past participle blundered)

1. (intransitive) To make a big mistake, especially when it is careless or stupid. [from 1706]

   to blunder in preparing a medical prescription

   1. (chess, backgammon, intransitive) To make a bad move, especially caused by tactical oversight.
   2. (chess, transitive) To make a bad move and thereby cause the loss of (a piece).
2. (intransitive, sometimes figurative, with adverb or preposition) To move in an unsteady way. [from ca. 1386, figurative sense from 1641]
   • October 6, 1759, Oliver Goldsmith, The Bee No. 1

     I was never distinguished for address, and have often even blundered in making my bow.

   • 1700, [John] Dryden, “Palamon and Arcite: Or, The Knight’s Tale. In Three Books.”, in Fables Ancient and Modern; […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:

     blunders on, and staggers every pace

3. (transitive, with adverb or preposition) To enter a place or become involved in a difficult situation by mistake.
   • 1714, Humphry Ditton, A discourse concerning the resurrection of Jesus Christ:

     To blunder an adversary.

4. (transitive, obsolete) To do or treat in a blundering manner; to confuse.
   • 1676, Edward Stillingfleet, A Defence of the Discourse Concerning the Idolatry Practised in the Church of Rome:

     He blunders and confounds all these together.

• → Dutch: blunderen

• “blunder” in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Longman.
• “blunder, v.”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “blunder, v.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.

• bundler, Brundle, Ledburn

blunder

1. present of blunde

• IPA^(key): /ˈblʏn.dər/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: blun‧der
• Rhymes: -ʏndər

Borrowed from English blunder, from Middle English blonder, blundur (“disturbance, strife”), from Old Norse blunda (“to shut the eyes”). Related to blind.

blunder m (plural blunders, diminutive blundertje n)

1. a blunder, serious error or mistake

• blunderen

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

blunder

1. inflection of blunderen:
   1. first-person singular present indicative
   2. (in case of inversion) second-person singular present indicative
   3. imperative

• brulden

Unadapted borrowing from English blunder. According to SO attested since 1837.

blunder c

1. blunder (clumsy mistake)
2. (chess) A blunder; a very bad move, especially caused by some tactical oversight.

   Synonyms: ??, bortsättning, misstag

• blunder in Svensk ordbok.