tumble

verb tum·ble \ ˈtəm-bəl \

Updated on: 25 Apr 2018

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

The shaking is so extreme that solid ground moves like liquid near the San Francisco Bay, while landslides tumble down area hills and mountains.

— doug criss, CNN, "The Bay Area is long overdue for a major earthquake. When it hits, it could kill hundreds," 19 Apr. 2018
The fund’s green light for cryptocurrency trading comes after the price of Bitcoin, which has served as a bellwether to other cryptocurrencies, has tumbled in 2018.

— lucinda shen, Fortune, "Hedge Fund Titan George Soros Is Getting into Cryptocurrencies," 6 Apr. 2018
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 2.2% to a near eight-week low, while May crude oil futures tumbled 1.2% to $62.78 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

— yoko kubota, WSJ, "China Tariffs Threaten U.S. Cars, Planes and Soy in Response to Trump," 4 Apr. 2018
The Dow fell more than 400 points in early trading, while stock futures tumbled.

— eric levitz, Daily Intelligencer, "Trump Cheers on Trade War With China As Stocks Tumble," 4 Apr. 2018
On Tuesday, a measure of 60-day historical volatility jumped to the highest since September as futures tumbled 5.2 percent to $2,498 a metric ton, the biggest loss for a most-active contract since May 24.

— marvin g. perez and emily chasan, chicagotribune.com, "Hershey to spend $500 million making more sustainable kisses," 3 Apr. 2018
America’s eagerness to strike a deal on its biggest trade pact comes as U.S. stocks tumbled, falling in seven of their past 10 trading sessions on concern over Trump’s plan to slap duties on Chinese goods.

— Bloomberg.com, "Trump’s Border Dustup Looms Over Nafta Push: Balance of Power," 3 Apr. 2018
And Amazon sank following weekend broadsides from President Trump on Twitter, while Facebook tumbled as a widening privacy scandal continued to weigh on the company’s stock.

— marley jay, BostonGlobe.com, "Dow drops 459 points on worries about tech stocks, trade," 2 Apr. 2018
The world could only watch as Tiangong-1 tumbled lower and lower in the sky until burning up Sunday night over the Pacific.

— jay bennett, Popular Mechanics, "Chinese Space Station Tiangong-1 Burns Up Over the Pacific Ocean," 2 Apr. 2018

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

in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

See Words from the same year

tumble Synonyms

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

If one of the top three quarterbacks were to take a bit of a tumble, the Dolphins would be tempted to take him, since Ryan Tannehill doesn't look like the answer.

— sam farmer, latimes.com, "Team-by-team draft needs: NFC East and AFC East," 22 Apr. 2018
The hubbub outside the courthouse The jury, which is being sequestered, is not hearing the rough-and-tumble jousting between representatives of Cosby and lawyers for his accusers outside the courthouse during breaks in the proceeding.

— maria puente, USA TODAY, "Bill Cosby retrial, Day 5: Chief accuser Andrea Constand grilled by defense on discrepancies in her story," 13 Apr. 2018
For you rough-and-tumble types, Venture North Australia’s five-night East Arnhem Land Safari takes guests on guided tours through Oz’s hard-to-access Aboriginal homeland.

— ashlea halpern, The Cut, "12 Epic, All-Inclusive Honeymoon Itineraries," 11 Apr. 2018
The market reaction was immediate: the oilseed led a tumble in agricultural prices, with corn and cotton also declining.

— Bloomberg.com, "Powell: U.S. Federal Budget Is Not on a Sustainable Path," 6 Apr. 2018
The market reaction was immediate: the oilseed led a tumble in agricultural prices, with corn and cotton also declining.

— heesu lee and stephen stapczynski, Houston Chronicle, "If trade war escalates, will China target U.S. shale?," 6 Apr. 2018
But Zuckerberg has not yet been exposed to the rough-and-tumble of legislative questioning, designating that job to senior attorneys such as General Counsel Colin Stretch.

— Anchorage Daily News, "U.S. and British lawmakers demand answers from Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg," 18 Mar. 2018
That was based on the Secretary of Education's rough-and-tumble confirmation hearings—Vice President Mike Pence's vote was required to break a Senate tie—and the constant protests that follow her on her visits around the country.

— jack holmes, Esquire, "How Betsy DeVos Faceplanted on 60 Minutes," 12 Mar. 2018
The Raiders’ mysterious tumble/stumble defies logical explanation.

— scott ostler, San Francisco Chronicle, "Scott Ostler: 3 Bay Area all-stars discuss mysteries of life in a bar," 6 Jan. 2018