Tumble

Pronunciation

• enPR: tambÉ™l, IPA: /tÊŒmbÉ™l/
• Rhymes: -ÊŒmbÉ™l

Origin

From Middle English tumblen; frequentative of Middle English tumben, from Old English tumbian.

Full definition of tumble

Noun

1. A fall.I took a tumble down the stairs and broke my tooth.

Derived terms

• rough and tumble
• take a tumble
• tumble dryer
• tumbler
• give a tumble

Verb

1. (intransitive) To fall end over end.
• SouthHe who tumbles from a tower surely has a greater blow than he who slides from a molehill.
2. To perform gymnastics such as somersaults, rolls, and handsprings.
3. To roll over and over.
• 1908: Kenneth Grahame, The two animals tumbled over each other in their eagerness to get inside, and heard the door shut behind them with great joy and relief.
4. (informal) To have sexual intercourse.
5. (transitive) To smooth and polish a rough surface on relatively small parts.
6. To muss, to make disorderly; to tousle or rumple.to tumble a bed

Derived terms

• tumble to