tumble

tumble
v. & n.
—v.
1 intr. & tr. fall or cause to fall suddenly, clumsily, or headlong.
2 intr. fall rapidly in amount etc. (prices tumbled).
3 intr. (often foll. by about, around) roll or toss erratically or helplessly to and fro.
4 intr. move or rush in a headlong or blundering manner (the children tumbled out of the car).
5 intr. (often foll. by to) colloq. grasp the meaning or hidden implication of an idea, circumstance, etc. (they quickly tumbled to our intentions).
6 tr. overturn; fling or push roughly or carelessly.
7 intr. perform acrobatic feats, esp. somersaults.
8 tr. rumple or disarrange; pull about; disorder.
9 tr. dry (washing) in a tumble-drier.
10 tr. clean (castings, gemstones, etc.) in a tumbling-barrel.
11 intr. (of a pigeon) turn over backwards in flight.
—n.
1 a sudden or headlong fall.
2 a somersault or other acrobatic feat.
3 an untidy or confused state.
Phrases and idioms:
tumble-drier n. a machine for drying washing in a heated rotating drum. tumble-dry v.tr. & intr. (-dries, -dried) dry in a tumble-drier. tumbling-barrel (or -box etc.) a revolving device containing an abrasive substance, in which castings, gemstones, etc., are cleaned by friction. tumbling-bay
1 the outfall of a river, reservoir, etc.
2 a pool into which this flows.
Etymology: ME tumbel f. MLG tummelen, OHG tumalon frequent. of tumon: cf. OE tumbian dance

Useful english dictionary. 2012.

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  • tumble — tum‧ble [ˈtʌmbl] verb [intransitive] JOURNALISM if prices, figures etc tumble, they go down suddenly and by a large amount: • Stock market prices have tumbled over the past week. tumble noun [countable usually singular] : • The announcement… …   Financial and business terms

  • tumble — [tum′bəl] vi. tumbled, tumbling [ME tumblen, freq. of tumben < OE tumbian, to fall, jump, dance; akin to Ger tummeln, taumeln < OHG * tumalon, freq. of tumon, to turn < IE base * dheu , to be turbid > DULL] 1. to do somersaults,… …   English World dictionary

  • Tumble — Tum ble, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Tumbled}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Tumbling}.] [OE. tumblen, AS. tumbian to turn heels over head, to dance violently; akin to D. tuimelen to fall, Sw. tumla, Dan. tumle, Icel. tumba; and cf. G. taumeln to reel, to stagger.]… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Tumble — Tum ble, v. t. 1. To turn over; to turn or throw about, as for examination or search; to roll or move in a rough, coarse, or unceremonious manner; to throw down or headlong; to precipitate; sometimes with over, about, etc.; as, to tumble books or …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • tumble — (v.) c.1300, to perform as an acrobat, also to fall down, perhaps from a frequentative form of O.E. tumbian dance about, of unknown origin. Related to M.L.G. tummelen to turn, dance, Du. tuimelen to tumble, O.H.G. tumon, Ger. taumeln to turn,… …   Etymology dictionary

  • tumble — ► VERB 1) fall suddenly, clumsily, or headlong. 2) move in a headlong manner. 3) decrease rapidly in amount or value. 4) rumple; disarrange. 5) (tumble to) informal come to understand; realize. ► NOUN 1) …   English terms dictionary

  • tumble in — ● tumble …   Useful english dictionary

  • Tumble — Tum ble, n. Act of tumbling, or rolling over; a fall. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • tumble — index agitate (shake up), disorganize, subvert, upset Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • tumble — [v] fall or make fall awkwardly bowl down, bring down, descend, dip, disarrange, disarray, disorder, disturb, do a pratfall, down, drop, fall headlong*, flatten, floor, flop, go belly up*, go down, hit the dirt*, jumble, keel, keel over, knock… …   New thesaurus

  • tumble — I n. (colloq.) fall 1) to take a tumble 2) a bad, nasty tumble (she took a nasty tumble) 3) a tumble from sign of recognition 4) to give smb. a tumble (they wouldn t give us a tumble) II v. 1) (d; intr.) to tumble into (to tumble into bed) 2) (d; …   Combinatory dictionary

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