Definition of 'flounder'
Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular present tense flounders
, present participle floundering
, past tense, past participle floundered
language note: The plural form for meaning [sense 4] can be either flounder or flounders.
1. verb
2. verb
If you say that someone is floundering, you are criticizing them for not making decisions or for not knowing what to say or do.
[disapproval]
4. variable noun
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
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flounder
British English pronunciation
American English pronunciation
Word Frequency
flounder in British English 1
verb (intransitive)
1.
noun
▶ USAGE Flounder is sometimes wrongly used where founder is meant: the project foundered (not floundered) because of a lack of funds3.
the act of floundering
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Word origin
C16: probably a blend of founder2 + blunder; perhaps influenced by flounder2Word Frequency
flounder in British English 2
nounWord forms: plural -der or -ders
1. Also called: fluke
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Word origin
C14: probably of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Norse flythra, Norwegian flundraWord Frequency
flounder in American English 1
verb intransitive
noun
3.
the act of floundering
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Word Frequency
flounder in American English 2
nounWord forms: plural ˈflounder or ˈflounders
any of two families (Bothidae and Pleuronectidae) of flatfishes, including halibut,
plaice, and turbot
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Word Frequency
flounder in American English 1
(ˈflaundər)
intransitive verb
SYNONYMS 2. falter, waver, muddle.1. (usually fol. by about, along, on, through, etc)
to struggle with stumbling or plunging movements
He saw the child floundering about in the water
2.
to struggle clumsily or helplessly
He floundered helplessly on the first day of his new job
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Derived forms
flounderingly adverb
Word origin
[1570–80; perh. b. flounce1 and founder2]Word Frequency
flounder in American English 2
(ˈflaundər)
nounWord forms: plural esp collectively -der, esp referring to two or more kinds or species -ders
1.
a European, marine flatfish, Platichthys flesus, used for food
2.
any of numerous similar or closely related non-European flatfishes
3.
any flatfish other than soles
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Word origin
[1400–50; late ME ‹ AF floundre ‹ Scand; cf. Norw flundra]Examples of 'flounder' in a sentence
flounder
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In other languages
flounder
British English: flounder
VERB /ˈflaʊndə/
If something is floundering, it has many problems and may soon fail completely.
What a pity that his career was left to flounder.
- American English: flounder /ˈflaʊndər/
- Brazilian Portuguese: debater-se
- Chinese: 陷入困境
- European Spanish: tambalearse
- French: battre de l'aile
- German: ins Schwimmen kommen
- Italian: vacillare
- Japanese: 四苦八苦する
- Korean: 힘들어지다
- European Portuguese: debater-se
- Latin American Spanish: tambalearse
- Thai: ตะเกียกตะกาย, ดิ้นรน
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Definition of flounder from the Collins English Dictionary
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