To bungle means to mess something up through clumsiness or poor judgment. When you bungle a task, you handle it badly and make avoidable mistakes. A chef who bungles a recipe might forget key ingredients or burn the dish. A student who bungles a presentation might lose their notes, stumble over words, and forget important points they had practiced.

The word suggests more than a simple mistake: bungling happens when someone tackles something carelessly or incompetently. If you trip once while carrying dishes, that's an accident. If you try to carry twelve plates stacked dangerously high, drop them all, then slip in the mess while cleaning up, that's bungling. A bungler is someone who regularly messes things up this way.

You might bungle an attempt to surprise your friend by accidentally texting them the party details. A detective could bungle an investigation by contaminating evidence or questioning suspects poorly. Politicians sometimes bungle important decisions by acting impulsively without thinking through the consequences.

The word often appears when someone had a clear opportunity to succeed but got in their own way through sloppiness or poor planning. Unlike words such as fail, which can happen despite your best efforts, bungle suggests the failure was preventable.