flounder
verb/ˈflaʊndə(r)/
/ˈflaʊndər/
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they flounder | /ˈflaʊndə(r)/ /ˈflaʊndər/ |
| he / she / it flounders | /ˈflaʊndəz/ /ˈflaʊndərz/ |
| past simple floundered | /ˈflaʊndəd/ /ˈflaʊndərd/ |
| past participle floundered | /ˈflaʊndəd/ /ˈflaʊndərd/ |
| -ing form floundering | /ˈflaʊndərɪŋ/ /ˈflaʊndərɪŋ/ |
- [intransitive, transitive] to struggle to know what to say or do or how to continue with something
- His abrupt change of subject left her floundering helplessly.
- + speech ‘Well, I, er…’ he floundered.
Want to learn more?
Find out which words work together and produce more natural sounding English with the Oxford Collocations Dictionary app.
- [intransitive] to have a lot of problems and to be in danger of failing completely
- At that time the industry was floundering.
- The new democracy there continues to flounder.
- [intransitive] + adv./prep. to struggle to move or get somewhere in water, mud, etc.
- She was floundering around in the deep end of the swimming pool.
- A man came floundering through the snow towards us.
Word Originverb late 16th cent.: perhaps a blend of founder ‘to fill with water and sink’ and blunder, or perhaps symbolic, fl- frequently beginning words connected with swift or sudden movement.
Check pronunciation:
flounder