tumble

play

verb tum·ble \ ˈtəm-bəl \

Definition of tumble

tumbled; tumbling play \-b(ə-)liŋ\

intransitive verb

1 a :to fall suddenly and helplessly

b :to suffer a sudden downfall, overthrow, or defeat

c :to decline suddenly and sharply (as in price) :drop

the stock market tumbled

d :to fall into ruin :collapse

2 a :to perform gymnastic feats in tumbling

b :to turn end over end in falling or flight

3 :to roll over and over, to and fro, or end over end :toss

4 :to issue forth hurriedly and confusedly

5 :to come by chance :stumble

6 :to come to understand :catch on

didn't tumble to the seriousness of the problem

transitive verb

1 :to cause to tumble (as by pushing or toppling)

2 a :to throw together in a confused mass

b :rumple, disorder

3 :to whirl in a tumbling barrel

See tumble defined for English-language learners

See tumble defined for kids

Examples of tumble in a Sentence

He tripped and tumbled to the ground.
The statue came tumbling down during the riots.
The satellite was tumbling out of control.
She slipped and tumbled down the hill.
Everyone came tumbling out of the bar at closing time.
He tumbled into bed and fell asleep.
Water tumbled over the rocks.

Recent Examples of tumble from the Web

Carolina Panthers (6-10): Cats tumbled hard last season from 15-1 the year before, the defense seems in decline, and Cam Newton is coming off shoulder issues.

— greg cote, miamiherald, "See who’s No. 1 and where Dolphins land in our annual NFL Team Rankings," 30 Aug. 2017
The Bulldogs play in the rough-and-tumble Southern Conference, a league that's hard to predict after a huge staff upheaval at perennial favorite Chattanooga.

— cheryl wray, AL.com, "Samford looks to improve in 2017 behind All-American QB, strong defense," 23 Aug. 2017
Temperatures in those areas could tumble by as much as 10 degrees Fahrenheit (5.6 Celsius), according to Paul Walker, a meteorologist with AccuWeather Inc. in State College, Pennsylvania.

— brian k sullivan, Bloomberg.com, "Eclipse Turning Day Into Night to Send Temperatures Tumbling," 18 Aug. 2017
As statues and monuments to Confederate soldiers and generals come tumbling down, debate about the practice is going up.

— amy lavalley, Post-Tribune, "Art, race issues converge in Confederate monument debate," 18 Aug. 2017
The spring tumbled to the floor, landing on one of its ends, but instead of jumping back up, the spring flopped end over end, walking across the floor.

— jonathan schifman, Popular Mechanics, "The Remarkable, War-Torn, Spacefaring History of the Slinky," 8 Aug. 2017
Real consequences can hurt: people have fallen off ten-to-fifteen-foot drops, walked face-first into rock formations, and tumbled down long slides.

— patrick blanchfield, Esquire, "Shot in the Dark," 1 Aug. 2017
Just as importantly, Xi Jinping, China’s president, gave a speech at the meeting that was tough enough on the topic of credit-tightening to send stocks tumbling the next day.

— The Economist, "A debt rollercoasterCredit growth in China is causing jitters," 20 July 2017
The workshops will be in skills, stunting and tumbling.

— Daily Southtown, "Sports calendar," 19 July 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of tumble

Middle English, frequentative of tumben to dance, from Old English tumbian; akin to Old High German tūmōn to reel

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

tumble Synonyms

Synonyms

slip, stumble, topple, trip, fall

Antonyms

get up, rise, stand (up), uprise

Related Words

collapse, crumple, drop, flump, keel, plop, plunk (or plonk), slump (over); crash, free-fall, nose-dive, plummet, plunge, precipitate, wipe out; skid, slide

Near Antonyms

accumulate, balloon, build, burgeon (also bourgeon), enlarge, escalate, expand, grow, increase, intensify, mushroom, pick up, snowball, swell, wax

tumble

noun

Definition of tumble

1 a :a disordered mass of objects or material

b :a disorderly state

2 :an act or instance of tumbling

See tumble defined for English-language learners

Examples of tumble in a Sentence

cleaned a crazy tumble of buttons, hair bands, loose change, and old candy wrappers out from the couch cushions
took a little tumble on the ice

Recent Examples of tumble from the Web

Buildings might be erected in place of the tumble-down shanties now dignified with the name of markets, which would be not only objects of pride as architectural structures, but be made sources of revenue.

— daniel c. schlenoff, Scientific American, "Hyperefficient Agriculture, 50 Years Ago and Now," 24 July 2017
Sometimes the changes are minor, like giving a digitized bandage to a scraped knee after someone takes a tumble or masking a real-life baby bump that doesn't jibe with a character's storyline.

— whitney friedlander, Marie Claire, "Hollywood Is Lying to You: How Movies and TV Are Erasing Actresses' "Flaws"," 20 June 2017
After a late tumble in technology stocks, the Nasdaq composite lost 0.4 percent, to 6,194.89.

— elaine kurtenbach, The Seattle Times, "Asian shares fall after Fed rate hike, tracking Wall St lead," 14 June 2017
After a late tumble in technology stocks, the Nasdaq composite lost 25.48 points, or 0.4 percent, to 6,194.89.

— Washington Post, "Stocks slip as investors seek safety after weak sales data," 14 June 2017
The moves — along with the introduction of new beers like a grapefruit radler — contributed to a 19 percent tumble in 2016 production.

— john frank, The Know, "Colorado’s top 10 breweries of 2016 by the numbers," 13 June 2017
Two good rough-and-tumble tavernas are Kodylenia and Xeri Elia; a third, Papagalos, mixes terrific cocktails and has views of the harbor.

— alexander lobrano, Town & Country, "The Ultimate Travel Guide to Mykonos, Hydra, and Santorini," 5 June 2017
The landing didn’t seem that far down; how could Frank be so sure Cathy’d be out of commission after a short tumble?

— spencer kornhaber, The Atlantic, "House of Cards Season 5, Episode 12: The Live-Binge Review," 2 June 2017
Falling Through Space: Coop’s long, jarring tumble through space may finally answer Donna Hayward (Moira Kelly) and Laura Palmer’s thought experiment from Fire Walk with Me.

— joanna robinson, vanityfair.com, "Twin Peaks: 20 Easter Eggs, References, and Callbacks You Might Have Missed," 23 May 2017

First Known Use of tumble

1634

tumble Synonyms

Synonyms

agglomerate, agglomeration, alphabet soup, assortment, botch, clutter, collage, crazy quilt, farrago, gallimaufry, grab bag, gumbo, hash, hodgepodge, hotchpotch, jambalaya, jumble, jungle, litter, macédoine, medley, mélange, menagerie, miscellanea, mishmash, mixed bag, montage, motley, muddle, olio, olla podrida, omnium-gatherum, pastiche, patchwork, patchwork quilt, potpourri, ragbag, ragout, rummage, salad, salmagundi, scramble, shuffle, smorgasbord, stew, miscellany, variety, welter

Antonyms

order, orderliness

Related Words

detritus, notions, oddments, odds and ends, sundries; accumulation, aggregate, aggregation, conglomerate, conglomeration; catchall; admixture, alloy, amalgam, blend, combination, commixture, composite, compound, fusion, intermixture, mix-up; bollix, chaos, confusion, disarrangement, disarray, disorder, dog's breakfast [chiefly British], mess, morass, muddle, shambles; imbroglio, knot, snarl, tangle

Near Antonyms

method, pattern, plan, system

TUMBLE Defined for English Language Learners

tumble

play

verb

Definition of tumble for English Language Learners

: to fall down suddenly and quickly
: to fall forward while turning over
: to fall or drop suddenly in amount, value, etc.

tumble

noun

Definition of tumble for English Language Learners

: an act of falling or tumbling
: an athletic movement in which you roll or turn your body across the ground or through the air

TUMBLE Defined for Kids

tumble

play

verb tum·ble \ ˈtəm-bəl \

Definition of tumble for Students

tumbled; tumbling

1 :to fall suddenly and helplessly

He tumbled off the bridge.

2 :to fall while rolling or bouncing

Boxes tumbled down the stairs.

3 :to move or go in a hurried or confused way

The children tumbled out of the bus.

4 :to toss together into a confused mass

5 :to perform gymnastic feats of rolling and turning

6 :to suffer a sudden downward turn or defeat

The value of gold tumbled.

tumble

noun

Definition of tumble for Students

1 :an act or instance of falling often while rolling or bouncing

Peter gave the dice a quick tumble.
—Chris Van Allsburg, Jumanji

2 :a messy state or collection

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tumble

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