Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

diabolo

American  
[dee-ab-uh-loh] / diˈæb əˌloʊ /

noun

  • diabolos
    plural
  1. a game in which a toplike object is spun, thrown, and caught by or balanced on and whirled along a string the ends of which are fastened to the ends of two sticks that are manipulated by hand.

  2. the top used in this game.


diabolo British  
/ dɪˈæbəˌləʊ /

noun

  1. a game in which one throws and catches a spinning top on a cord fastened to two sticks held in the hands

  2. the top used in this game

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of diabolo

1905–10; < Italian: literally, devil

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

In July, a diabolo instructor, Lu Chi-hsien, and four others were detained for allegedly setting up a spy network.

From BBC Nov. 8, 2023

Leroux says circus mania starts young; his fourth-grade daughter’s gym curriculum includes spinning diabolo sticks.

From Washington Post Nov. 5, 2015

The Smirnovs, quick-change artists, take the stage before Ms. España and the Anastasinis assemble for diabolo, a form of juggling.

From New York Times Nov. 2, 2014

Segovia still carries on her shield this "Puente del diabolo," with the head of a Roman peering above it.

From Cathedrals of Spain by John A.

Such was Major Jones at the time, when, "suadente diabolo," it seemed meet to Fathers Mooney and D'Array to make him the butt of their raillery.

From The Confessions of Harry Lorrequer — Volume 1 by Charles James Lever

To Muslims, he is Iblis, a word perhaps derived from the Greek diabolos, the proudest of all God's creatures.

From Time Magazine Archive

The word "devil" comes from the Greek "diabolos," which means "one prone to slander; a liar."

From The World English Bible (WEB): by Anonymous

D’Herbelot supposes this title to have been a corruption of the Greek Διαβολος, diabolos.

From Shorter Novels, Eighteenth Century The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia; The Castle of Otranto, a Gothic Story; Vathek, an Arabian Tale by William Beckford

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Dictionary.com's Learning Companion

Go beyond just looking up words.
Remember them forever with VocabTrainer.

Start training