Meaning
Blunder means a careless or stupid mistake that causes problems or embarrassment. It can be used both as a noun (“a blunder”) and a verb (“to blunder”).
Grammar and Usage
Part of speech:
- Noun: a mistake caused by carelessness or lack of understanding.
- Verb: to make a careless mistake, to move or act clumsily.
Verb forms:
- blunder – blundered – blundered – blundering
Typical structures:
- make a blunder (noun use)
- blunder into something (to get into a difficult situation by mistake)
- blunder out / in (to enter or leave awkwardly or by accident)
Common Phrases
- make a blunder – to make a big mistake
- political blunder – a serious mistake by a politician
- blunder into trouble – to get into trouble accidentally
- a social blunder – a mistake that offends others in social situations
Collocations
- make / commit / admit a blunder
- serious / huge / embarrassing / costly blunder
- career / tactical / diplomatic blunder
Examples
- The company lost millions because of a marketing blunder.
- He made a blunder by sending the wrong email to the client.
- The politician’s comment turned out to be a serious blunder.
- She blundered into the meeting room without knocking.
- I realized I had blundered badly after seeing everyone’s reaction.
- The pilot’s blunder nearly caused an accident.
- Don’t blunder into making a decision without checking the facts.
- The rookie’s defensive blunder cost the team the game.
Synonyms or Related
- mistake
- error
- slip
- oversight
- misstep
- lapse
Antonym
- correction
- accuracy
- success
- precision
