Trip vs stumble
What´s the difference between trip and stumble, are they interchangeable? I am not asking about travelling (trip), of course. Besides I have also seen, sometimes is used "to trip over, to trip into, or to trip on", do they mean the same?
7 Answers
Yes - there is a distinction.
Trip: A trip is a single action, usually leading to a fall. You need a stimulus to trigger it - for example, if there is something on the ground and your foot touches it, and you fall over it, you trip.
Stumble: a stumble is like a prolonged trip, as in when you trip, but you don't in fact end up falling, so you keep moving forward nearly falling. It can also refer to the awkward way that a drunk or very tired person is moving - i.e. they look like they could fall at any moment. Lastly, stumble is also used figuratively, as in when you are speaking and the words aren't coming out properly :"he stumbled over his words"
"To trip" to me is like to lose your balance and usually results in falling.
"I tripped over that stick on the road!"
To stumble is to hit something with your foot, and slightly lose your balance, but you don't fall. It can also be described as the way a drunk person walks.
To trip over and to trip on mean basically the same.
"To trip into" to me means that you trip and fall into another object.
I tripped into the wall.= I tripped and fell into the wall.
To trip over a pet
to stumble (you can stumble for moments or hours, like in a desert - ever seen Hidalgo?... lots of stumbling in that one.
These are all descriptive terms used at one time or another to
describe my inebriated state .
-Stumbling.
Mumbling.
Tumbling.
Bumbling.
Fumbling .
Grumbling.
Stumbling.
Humbling
Just a little detail but not about trip or stumble: you wrote "travelling". This spelling with 2 L's is preferred in British English but in United States English the correct forms are: traveling and traveled with one L. A rule to help is that if the 2 syllable verb ending in one vowel and one consonant has the accent (stress) on the last syllable - like prefer- you double the last consonant when adding -ing or -ed (of course the letter X is never doubled). I can only think of verbs right now that in in R: occur: occurring, occurred; refer: referring, referred. Note that reveal has 2 vowels and is revealing, revealed (same thing for appeal).
I think they mean the same.
I agree they're pretty much the same, but when I use them, to trip is to stumble over some object, while to stumble implies that you tripped over your own feet!
Also, if you're being modest about some success, you might say "I was just lucky. I stumbled into an opportunity". "I tripped into an opportunity just doesn't sound right, but that's probably mere custom.
