somersault

noun

som·er·sault | \ ˈsə-mər-ˌsȯlt

variants: or less commonly summersault

Definition of somersault

: a movement (as in gymnastics) in which a person turns forward or backward in a complete revolution along the ground or in the air bringing the feet over the head also : a falling or tumbling head over heels

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Examples of somersault in a Sentence

The gymnast turned a somersault.

Recent Examples on the Web On an inward 3 ½ somersault tuck, two of seven judges awarded Hedberg 9.5 and one a 9.0 – and one a 10.0. — David Woods, The Indianapolis Star, 9 June 2021 After two dives, Bacon sat in third place, then scored 62.40 points on a reverse 1½ somersault pike. — Rachel Blount, Star Tribune, 18 Mar. 2021 On his last dive, Lenzi scores 101.85 points on a reverse 3½ somersault from the tuck position to win the 3-meter springboard title at the U.S. Indoor Diving Championships. — Houston Mitchell Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 20 Apr. 2021 Rudolph's Harris then brought out Moffat's Biden, who limped in with a medical boot on his foot before doing a somersault like Willy Wonka. — Frank Pallotta, CNN, 20 Dec. 2020 Literally, Moffat's Biden did a somersault in his boot cast — straight into the COVID-19 vaccination scene for Vice President Mike Pence (played by Beck Bennett). — Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 20 Dec. 2020 The topsy turvy trade talks between the U.K. and the European Union took another somersault on Sunday when Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen gave negotiators another shot at closing a deal. — Ian Wishart, Bloomberg.com, 13 Dec. 2020 In that somersault, Mr. Morrison inadvertently let the world hear Australia’s internal dialogue of doubt — one that echoes around the globe as China increasingly asserts its might. — New York Times, 1 Dec. 2020 On a 1-0 pitch to Ian Happ, Suter lost his balance and did a perfect somersault off the mound. — Joe Totoraitis, Star Tribune, 12 Sep. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'somersault.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.