From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishflounderfloun‧der1 /ˈflaʊndə $ -ər/ verb [intransitive] 1 DECIDEto not know what to say or do because you feel confused or upset I found myself floundering as I tried to answer her questions. ‘I’m sorry, ’ she floundered helplessly.2 FAILto have a lot of problems and be likely to fail completely More and more firms are floundering because of the recession.3 [always + adverb/preposition]CLUMSY to be unable to move easily because you are in deep water or mud, or cannot see very well They were floundering chest-deep in the freezing water.flounder around I could hear them floundering around in the dark.→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
flounder• One of the heaviest performers at the seaside track, Between Times was floundering after a slow start.• The sick horse, on the inside, floundered among the rocks and deep snow.• If the economy is floundering and confidence has faltered, a burst of spending might do the trick in turning around expectations.• Caroline realised that she was floundering in such a morass of conflicting emotions that she hardly knew what to resent most.• The team was floundering in the first half of the season.• The lifeguard saw some little kids floundering in the shallow water.• The Steady State Theory floundered on for a few more years, being continually revised, but eventually its three proponents conceded defeat.• They can also help a floundering organization extricate itself from the depths of a self-inflicted malaise.• Marriages and other relationships floundered under the pressure.• Brando's career was floundering when he was offered the role.floundered helplessly• When another student floundered helplessly before some elementary matter of grammar, Sabour handed over his notebook and explained the point.flounderflounder2 noun (plural flounder or flounders) [countable, uncountable] HBFDFa type of small fish that you can eatExamples from the Corpus
flounder• Dover's town beach for flounder.• The fisherman trudged to the sea once more, spoke, and the flounder granted the wish.• The flounder population is also on the increase.• The flounder surfaced and asked the fisherman what he wanted.• The flounder told him his wife had her wish, and when the fisherman got home, he saw it was true.• Southwold to Brightlingsea poor with flounder and dabs plus occasional sole and plaice from estuaries.Origin flounder1 (1500-1600) Probably from → FOUNDER2 flounder2 (1400-1500) Anglo-French floundre, from a Scandinavian language 