flounder

1 of 2

noun

floun·der ˈflau̇n-dər How to pronounce flounder (audio)

plural flounder or flounders

: flatfish

especially : any of various marine fishes (families Pleuronectidae, Paralichthyidae, and Bothidae) that include important food fishes

flounder

2 of 2

verb

floundered; floundering ˈflau̇n-d(ə-)riŋ How to pronounce flounder (audio)

intransitive verb

: to struggle to move or obtain footing : thrash about wildly

The poor horse was floundering in the mud.

: to proceed or act clumsily or ineffectually

the normally surefooted governor floundered a moment like a prize pupil caught unprepared

Time

Did you know?

Flounder is a relatively common verb that current evidence dates to the late 16th century, when it was likely born by means of an alteration of an older verb, founder. The two have been confused ever since. Today, founder is most often used as a synonym of fail, or, in the case of a waterborne vessel, as a word meaning "to fill with water and sink." Formerly, it was also frequently applied when a horse stumbled badly and was unable to keep walking. It's likely this sense of founder led to the original and now-obsolete meaning of flounder: "to stumble." In modern use, flounder typically means "to struggle" or "to act clumsily"; the word lacks the finality of founder, which usually denotes complete collapse or failure, as that of a sunken ship.

Example Sentences

Verb The horses were floundering through the deep snow. He was floundering around in the pool like an amateur. After watching me flounder for a few minutes, my instructor took over.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Little Lagoon, once a fishing mecca for mullet and flounder, has long been transformed into a brackish waterway infiltrated with algae blooms.

al, 12 Aug. 2022 Joe Fabiano has had a boat for most of his life, often taking it out to Boston Harbor to cast a line and catch flounder and stripers.

Shannon Larson, BostonGlobe.com, 2 Aug. 2022 Airline prides itself on offering the freshest Gulf seafood, including red fish, grouper, flounder and snow crab.

Megha Mcswain, Chron, 13 June 2022 Fishermen can catch blue crab, spotted and sand seatrout, sea catfish, red drum, and southern flounder in the island's waters.

Cailey Rizzo, Travel + Leisure, 4 Apr. 2022 Their meat is as white and flaky as any cod or flounder, perhaps even better.

Jason Nark, Washington Post, 17 May 2022 Matanzas on the Bay has everything from Gulf shrimp to Ahi tuna, plus lobster tail, snapper, grouper and flounder.

Judy Koutsky, Forbes, 9 Apr. 2022 The rules apply to valuable species that are harvested in the Northeast such as cod, haddock and flounder.

From Usa Today Network And Wire Reports, USA TODAY, 15 Apr. 2022 Regulators have tried to save the fishery with management measures such as very low fishing quotas, and many fishermen targeting other East Coast groundfish species such as haddock and flounder now avoid cod altogether.

Patrick Whittle, courant.com, 31 Mar. 2022

Verb

New retirees who neglect to plan can flounder without the structure of their careers, unsure how to fill their days, some retirees and advisers say.

Veronica Dagher, WSJ, 31 Aug. 2022 Having employees flounder around trying to figure out a tech issue that could be answered simply creates frustration and costs time and lost productivity.

Expert Panel®, Forbes, 25 July 2022 Examples include mackerel over tuna or fluke/flounder over halibut.

Amy Fischer Ms, Rd, Cdn, Good Housekeeping, 22 July 2022 While Putin seemed to flounder in the first three months of the conflict — angry, on the defensive and almost disappearing from view — Patrushev stepped forward to justify the invasion and promote Russia’s war aims.

Catherine Belton, Washington Post, 13 July 2022 Though many of those would flounder (remember The Love Guru?

Brittany Spanos, Rolling Stone, 5 July 2022 To land a job as a program manager, a candidate would have to flounder and guess how many golf balls fit in a bus or create an evacuation plan for the entire city of San Francisco.

Chloe Berger, Fortune, 28 Apr. 2022 In any career, there are top performers, folks who do well, those who get by and others who flounder and fail.

Don Daszkowski, Forbes, 21 Dec. 2021 Hopefully the push to give ESG the CRT treatment will flounder and further divide capital against itself.

Kate Aronoff, The New Republic, 23 May 2022 See More

单词	floundering
释义	flounder 1 of 2 noun floun·der ˈflau̇n-dər plural flounder or flounders : flatfish especially : any of various marine fishes (families Pleuronectidae, Paralichthyidae, and Bothidae) that include important food fishes flounder 2 of 2 verb floundered; floundering ˈflau̇n-d(ə-)riŋ intransitive verb 1 : to struggle to move or obtain footing : thrash about wildly The poor horse was floundering in the mud. 2 : to proceed or act clumsily or ineffectually the normally surefooted governor floundered a moment like a prize pupil caught unprepared Time Did you know? Flounder is a relatively common verb that current evidence dates to the late 16th century, when it was likely born by means of an alteration of an older verb, founder. The two have been confused ever since. Today, founder is most often used as a synonym of fail, or, in the case of a waterborne vessel, as a word meaning "to fill with water and sink." Formerly, it was also frequently applied when a horse stumbled badly and was unable to keep walking. It's likely this sense of founder led to the original and now-obsolete meaning of flounder: "to stumble." In modern use, flounder typically means "to struggle" or "to act clumsily"; the word lacks the finality of founder, which usually denotes complete collapse or failure, as that of a sunken ship. Synonyms Verb blunder bumble flog [British] limp lumber plod struggle stumble trudge See all Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences Verb The horses were floundering through the deep snow. He was floundering around in the pool like an amateur. After watching me flounder for a few minutes, my instructor took over. Recent Examples on the Web Noun Little Lagoon, once a fishing mecca for mullet and flounder, has long been transformed into a brackish waterway infiltrated with algae blooms. al, 12 Aug. 2022 Joe Fabiano has had a boat for most of his life, often taking it out to Boston Harbor to cast a line and catch flounder and stripers. Shannon Larson, BostonGlobe.com, 2 Aug. 2022 Airline prides itself on offering the freshest Gulf seafood, including red fish, grouper, flounder and snow crab. Megha Mcswain, Chron, 13 June 2022 Fishermen can catch blue crab, spotted and sand seatrout, sea catfish, red drum, and southern flounder in the island's waters. Cailey Rizzo, Travel + Leisure, 4 Apr. 2022 Their meat is as white and flaky as any cod or flounder, perhaps even better. Jason Nark, Washington Post, 17 May 2022 Matanzas on the Bay has everything from Gulf shrimp to Ahi tuna, plus lobster tail, snapper, grouper and flounder. Judy Koutsky, Forbes, 9 Apr. 2022 The rules apply to valuable species that are harvested in the Northeast such as cod, haddock and flounder. From Usa Today Network And Wire Reports, USA TODAY, 15 Apr. 2022 Regulators have tried to save the fishery with management measures such as very low fishing quotas, and many fishermen targeting other East Coast groundfish species such as haddock and flounder now avoid cod altogether. Patrick Whittle, courant.com, 31 Mar. 2022 Verb New retirees who neglect to plan can flounder without the structure of their careers, unsure how to fill their days, some retirees and advisers say. Veronica Dagher, WSJ, 31 Aug. 2022 Having employees flounder around trying to figure out a tech issue that could be answered simply creates frustration and costs time and lost productivity. Expert Panel®, Forbes, 25 July 2022 Examples include mackerel over tuna or fluke/flounder over halibut. Amy Fischer Ms, Rd, Cdn, Good Housekeeping, 22 July 2022 While Putin seemed to flounder in the first three months of the conflict — angry, on the defensive and almost disappearing from view — Patrushev stepped forward to justify the invasion and promote Russia’s war aims. Catherine Belton, Washington Post, 13 July 2022 Though many of those would flounder (remember The Love Guru? Brittany Spanos, Rolling Stone, 5 July 2022 To land a job as a program manager, a candidate would have to flounder and guess how many golf balls fit in a bus or create an evacuation plan for the entire city of San Francisco. Chloe Berger, Fortune, 28 Apr. 2022 In any career, there are top performers, folks who do well, those who get by and others who flounder and fail. Don Daszkowski, Forbes, 21 Dec. 2021 Hopefully the push to give ESG the CRT treatment will flounder and further divide capital against itself. Kate Aronoff, The New Republic, 23 May 2022 See More Word History Etymology Noun Middle English, of Scandinavian origin; akin to Norwegian flundra flounder Verb probably alteration of founder First Known Use Noun 15th century, in the meaning defined above Verb 1592, in the meaning defined at sense 1 Phrases Containing flounder summer flounder winter flounder yellowtail flounder summer flounder winter flounder yellowtail flounder Kids Definition flounder 1 of 2 noun floun·der ˈflau̇n-dər : a flatfish used for food flounder 2 of 2 verb floundered; floundering 1 : to struggle to move or get footing The horses were floundering in the mud. 2 : to behave or do something in a clumsy way I floundered through the speech. floundering 1 of 2 adjective as in struggling Synonyms & Similar Words Relevance struggling failing dying declining languishing unsuccessful bankrupt insolvent depressed bankrupted unprosperous Antonyms & Near Antonyms successful thriving flourishing prospering booming roaring healthy golden prosperous halcyon lush palmy substantial rich wealthy affluent moneyed monied boomy opulent comfortable well-heeled well-to-do well-off See More floundering 2 of 2 verb present participle of flounder 1 as in stumbling to proceed or act clumsily or ineffectually unprepared choristers who floundered helplessly through the musical number Synonyms & Similar Words struggling stumbling blundering trudging shuffling limping faltering fumbling bumbling lurching lumbering reeling plodding jogging flogging tottering swaying wallowing staggering shambling muddling teetering weltering Antonyms & Near Antonyms coasting sailing flying gliding zipping kilting zooming See More 2 as in shuffling to move heavily or clumsily the car floundered through the heavy wet snow, constantly getting stuck Synonyms & Similar Words stumbling shuffling stomping lurching trudging barging dragging scuffling sloughing lumbering hauling shambling plodding stumping stamping slogging weaving galumphing tramping pounding lumping staggering reeling flopping clumping flogging scuffing blundering tottering swaying tromping waddling teetering doddering wobbling careening wabbling Antonyms & Near Antonyms sliding coasting floating gliding drifting hovering hanging waltzing whisking breezing wafting poising See More
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flounder

noun

verb

Did you know?

Synonyms

Example Sentences

Word History

Phrases Containing flounder

Kids Definition

noun

verb

adjective

verb