tumbling

1 of 2

noun

tum·​bling ˈtəm-b(ə-)liŋ 

: the skill, practice, or sport of executing gymnastic feats (such as somersaults and handsprings) without the use of apparatus

tumbling

2 of 2

adjective

: tipped or slanted out of the vertical

—used especially of a cattle brand

Examples of tumbling in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

With only 23 minutes of oxygen left, Foale and cosmonauts Vasily Tsibliev and Alexander ‘Sasha’ Lazutkin were able to repair the damage and stop the tumbling spacecraft from spinning wildly out of control. — Jeff Spry, Space.com, 25 July 2026

My broader research looks at how a single framework can handle both cooperative satellites, built to be caught, and noncooperative ones – the dead or tumbling craft that can’t help their rescuers. — Wanjiku Chebet Kanjumba, The Conversation, 22 July 2026

Adjective

In the last few weeks of 2022 alone, Giuliani generated one more tumbling wave of negative publicity. — John Marks, CNN, 7 Jan. 2023

The Senate majority leader represents the big-business wing of the Republican Party, and Wall Street, if the tumbling stock market is any indication, fears Trump’s protectionism will cause economic pain. — Jeet Heer, The New Republic, 5 Apr. 2018

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1604, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

circa 1916, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing tumbling

• tumbling barrel
• tumbling verse

Rhymes for tumbling

• bumbling
• crumbling
• fumbling
• grumbling
• humbling
• mumbling
• rumbling
• stumbling