stumbling on
Chancing upon unexpectedly
Stumbling on something is discovering it by accident rather than by searching: I stumbled on this little café while wandering the side streets.
The image is of tripping over something in your path—you weren't looking for it, but there it is.
Also stumbling upon or stumbling across.
- fall overLose upright position
- fallDescend under gravity
- fall downDrop to the ground
- tripPlanned travel somewhere
- uncoveringRevealing something hidden
serendipity · coming across · finding · finding out · lucky find · happy accident · by chance · blind luck · insight · aha moment · epiphany · stagger · breakthrough · revelation · chance · detour · wobble · slip
intentionality of discovery
stumbling onsearching for
Trying to find
seeking out · looking for · pursuing · going after · targeting
method of discovery
stumbling onresearching
Methodical investigation of a topic
investigating · tracking down · digging up · rooting out · detecting