flounder

floun·der ¹  (floundr)

intr.v. floun·dered, floun·der·ing, floun·ders

1. To make clumsy attempts to move or regain one's balance.

2. To move or act clumsily and in confusion. See Synonyms at blunder. See Usage Note at founder¹.

n.

The act of floundering.

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[Probably alteration of founder.]

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floun·der ²  (floundr)

n. pl. flounder or floun·ders

Any of various marine flatfishes of the families Bothidae and Pleuronectidae, which include important food fishes.

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[Middle English, from Anglo-Norman floundre, of Scandinavian origin; see plat- in Indo-European roots.]

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flounder¹

vb (intr)

1. to struggle; to move with difficulty, as in mud

2. to behave awkwardly; make mistakes

n

the act of floundering

[probably a blend of founder² + blunder; perhaps influenced by flounder²]

Usage: Flounder is sometimes wrongly used where founder is meant: the project foundered (not floundered) because of a lack of funds

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flounder²

n pl -der, -ders

1. (Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Animals) Also called fluke a European flatfish, Platichthys flesus having a greyish-brown body covered with prickly scales: family Pleuronectidae: an important food fish

2. (Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Animals) US and Canadian any flatfish of the families Bothidae (turbot, etc.) and Pleuronectidae (plaice, halibut, sand dab, etc.)

[probably of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Norse flythra, Norwegian flundra]

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	flounder - flesh of any of various American and European flatfish flatfish - sweet lean whitish flesh of any of numerous thin-bodied fish; usually served as thin fillets yellowtail flounder - flesh of American flounder having a yellowish tail plaice - flesh of large European flatfish turbot - flesh of a large European flatfish sand dab - the lean flesh of a small flounder from the Pacific coast of North America lemon sole, winter flounder - flesh of American flounder; important in the winter
	2.	flounder - any of various European and non-European marine flatfish flatfish - any of several families of fishes having flattened bodies that swim along the sea floor on one side of the body with both eyes on the upper side
Verb	1.	flounder - walk with great difficulty; "He staggered along in the heavy snow" stagger walk - use one's feet to advance; advance by steps; "Walk, don't run!"; "We walked instead of driving"; "She walks with a slight limp"; "The patient cannot walk yet"; "Walk over to the cabinet"
	2.	flounder - behave awkwardly; have difficulties; "She is floundering in college" struggle, fight - make a strenuous or labored effort; "She struggled for years to survive without welfare"; "He fought for breath"

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flounder

verb

1. falter, struggle, stall, slow down, run into trouble, come unstuck (informal), be in difficulties, hit a bad patch The economy was floundering.

2. dither, struggle, blunder, be confused, falter, be in the dark, be out of your depth The president is floundering, trying to jump-start his campaign.

3. struggle, struggle, toss, thrash, plunge, stumble, tumble, muddle, fumble, grope, wallow men floundering about in the water

Usage: Flounder is sometimes wrongly used where founder is meant: the project foundered (not floundered) because of lack of funds.

Translations

flounder¹ [ˈflaʊndəʳ] N (flounder or flounders (pl)) (= fish) → platija f

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flounder² [ˈflaʊndəʳ] VI

1. (also flounder about) (in water, mud etc) (= flap arms) → debatirse; (= splash) → revolcarse

2. (in speech etc) → perder el hilo

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flounder [ˈflaʊndə^r]

n (= fish) → flet m

vi (= fail) → battre de l'aile
to be floundering [person] (= lack direction and decision) → tourner en rond

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flounder¹

n (= fish) → Flunder f

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flounder²

vi

(lit) → sich abstrampeln, sich abzappeln; a stranded whale floundering on the beach → ein gestrandeter Wal, der sich am Strand abquält; we floundered about in the mud → wir quälten uns mühselig im Schlamm

(fig) → sich abzappeln (inf), → sich abstrampeln (inf); the company/economy was floundering → der Firma/Wirtschaft ging es schlecht; his career floundered → mit seiner Karriere ging es abwärts; to start to flounder → ins Schwimmen kommen; to flounder through something → sich durch etw wursteln or mogeln (inf); he floundered on → er wurstelte weiter

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flounder¹ [ˈflaʊndəʳ] vi (also flounder about) (in water, mud) → dibattersi, annaspare; (in speech) → impappinarsi, esitare

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flounder² [flaʊndəʳ] n (fish) → passera di mare

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flounder

v flounder [ˈflaundə]

to move one's legs and arms violently and with difficulty (in water, mud etc) She floundered helplessly in the mud. spartel يَتَخَبَّط في، يَغوص في الوَحِل цапам plácat se sprælle; fægte med arme og ben zappeln τσαλαβούτω, παραδέρνω patalear kahlama دست و پا زدن räpiköidä patauger לְפַרפֵּר अटकना, घबरा जाना koprcati se bukdácsol menggapai-gapai flyðra dibattersi もがく 버둥거리다 kapanotis, kapstytis ķepuroties mengapa-gapai spartelen sprelle, kaste seg fram og tilbake brnąć, szamotać się debater-se a se zbate барахтаться hádzať sa bresti batrgati se sprattla, tumla, rulla ตะเกียกตะกายฝ่า (น้ำ, โคลน) çırpınmak 掙扎 борсатися لڑکھڑا کر آگے بڑھنا loạng choạng 挣扎