stumbles, stumbled, stumbling
to stumble upon
phrasal verb
To find something by chance or unexpectedly
- 1I stumbled upon an old photo album in the attic.
- 2She stumbled upon a great little café while walking downtown.
Imagine you are walking in the park and you see something shiny on the ground. You didn't plan to find it, but you did by accident. That's what it means to stumble upon something - to find it unexpectedly or by chance.
Remember, "stumble upon" is used for positive surprises. If you accidentally find something bad or unpleasant, we use different words like "come across" or "encounter." Keep that in mind!
at the park
Unexpected Discovery at the Park
Amanda
I was walking through the park yesterday and stumbled upon a beautiful hidden garden.
Kevin
Really? I had no idea there was a garden there.
Amanda
Yeah, it was such a pleasant surprise. You should check it out sometime.
Kevin
I definitely will. Thanks for letting me know!
during a project discussion
Surprise Find in the Archives
Barbara
While organizing the old files, I stumbled upon some interesting documents.
Jennifer
Really? What did you find?
Barbara
They were detailed reports from a project we did years ago.
Jennifer
That sounds like a valuable find for our current work.
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Similar to "to stumble upon":
- 1discover
- 2come across
- 3encounter