somersault

noun som·er·sault \ ˈsə-mər-ˌsȯlt \

variants: or less commonly summersault

|Updated on: 29 Jul 2018

Examples: somersault in a Sentence

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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somersault

intransitive verb

See somersault defined for English-language learners

See somersault defined for kids

Examples of somersault in a Sentence

The gymnast turned a somersault.

Recent Examples of somersault from the Web

There were a couple of times when goal scorers did somersaults.

— andrew beaton, WSJ, "The World Cup of Boring Celebrations," 13 July 2018
As for the 12-guest skyboxes, which offer aerial views of dancers turning somersaults on poles below?

— frances stead sellers, chicagotribune.com, "Stormy Daniels to visit Washington this week — for a strip-club show," 8 July 2018
Between Leonore's stunt, Princess Charlotte's somersaults, and Prince George's antics with his cousin Savannah Phillips, royal kids are killing it this week.

— isabel greenberg, Harper's BAZAAR, "Princess Leonore of Sweden Was Literally on the Floor at Her Sister's Christening and It Was So Relatable," 14 June 2018
Victor Moses converted — and marked the goal with a somersault — to put Nigeria back in control of the race for second place in the group.

— Washington Post, "Messi finally scores, Argentina advances at World Cup," 26 June 2018
Moses converted — and marked the goal with a somersault — to put Nigeria back in control of the race for second place in the group.

— steve douglas, chicagotribune.com, "Lionel Messi, Argentina come alive to beat Nigeria 2-1 at World Cup," 26 June 2018
Which is when a player does a somersault on a throw-in.

— andrew beaton, WSJ, "Spain Overcomes Iran’s Stubborn Defense in the World Cup," 20 June 2018
Klein closes out the track with a backward somersault, guitar in hand.

— billboard staff, Billboard, "Governors Ball NYC 2018: Travis Scott Literally Brings the Thunder, Pusha T Debuts 'Daytona' Live on Day Two," 3 June 2018
Julius Aghahowa - Nigeria vs Sweden 2002 One somersault after scoring a goal is impressive enough, but doing seven is just showing off.

— SI.com, "World Cup Countdown: 6 Weeks to Go - 11 of the Best Celebrations in FIFA World Cup History," 9 May 2018

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.

Origin and Etymology of somersault

Middle French sombresaut leap, ultimately from Latin super over + saltus leap, from salire to jump — more at over, sally

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1530

in the meaning defined above

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SOMERSAULT Defined for English Language Learners

somersault

noun

Definition of somersault for English Language Learners

: a forward or backward movement of your body on the ground or in the air that is made by bringing your feet over your head

SOMERSAULT Defined for Kids

somersault

noun som·er·sault \ ˈsə-mər-ˌsȯlt \

Definition of somersault for Students

: a movement in which someone makes a complete turn by bringing the feet over the head

History for somersault

If you pay attention only to its sound, somersault is rather puzzling, because going head over heels has nothing to do with summer or salt. The spelling, however, suggests that the key to its history lies elsewhere. Somersault comes from a 16th-century French word sombresaut, made up of sombre or sobre, “over,” and saut, “jump.”