[Vocabulary] Stumble vs. trip.

Hello everyone,

I was asking if stumble can mean trip. For example,


while I was walking, I tripped over a cable and fell on the ground.
While I was walking, I stumbled over a cable and fell on the ground.

What's the difference between On/To in those sentence? I guess to sounds a bit more natural, doesn't it?

In short, yes and yes. Here is an example: Cheryl's horse stumbled, throwing her to the ground. And it definitely sounds more natural with "to". However, note that stumble means: "to fall or almost fall while you are walking or running". In your sentences it was clear that stumble means "to fall", but if you wrote that:

- I stumbled.
- I tripped.

Then, the first sentence can mean that you fell as well as that you almost fell. As a result, these two sentences not necessarily have the same meaning. Though, in your sentences, you made it obvious that the result was a fall, so the words could be used interchangeably.

saloom2 said:

Hello everyone,

I was asking if stumble can mean trip. For example,


while I was walking, I tripped over a cable and fell on the ground.
While I was walking, I stumbled over a cable and fell on the ground.

What's the difference between On/To in those sentence? I guess to sounds a bit more natural, doesn't it?

Click to expand...

'To' does sound more natural, but it is not required.

'Stumble' and 'trip' can't always be used to mean the same thing. It can only be used in your sentences because you have provided further context.

bodogeri said:

In short, yes and yes. Here is an example: Cheryl's horse stumbled, throwing her to the ground. And it definitely sounds more natural with "to". However, note that stumble means: "to fall or almost fall while you are walking or running".

Click to expand...

If you use a dictionary to help with your answer, please credit your source: stumble - definition. American English definition of stumble by Macmillan Dictionary