noun
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gymnastics weightlifting an exercising weight consisting of a single bar with a heavy ball or disc at either end
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a small wooden object shaped like this used in dog training for the dog to retrieve
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slang a fool
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of dumbbell
Explanation
A dumbbell is a type of weight you might see at a gym. You typically lift a dumbbell with one hand — unless it's too heavy and you accidentally drop it on your foot. Ouch! The short, handheld exercise weights are known as dumbbells, while the larger weights that require two hands for lifting are barbells. If you're new to weightlifting, you might want to start doing bicep curls with light dumbbells. The name comes from the bar once used to ring a church bell: dumbbells resemble these ringers, although they're dumb, or "silent." Dumbbell is also used in a derogatory way to mean "stupid person."
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:
This typically happens during the lowering portion of a movement, such as bringing a dumbbell down, walking downstairs, or slowly lowering yourself into a chair.
From Science Daily ● May 1, 2026
Atlas has yet to be put to work in factories, but videos put out by Boston Dynamics show the humanoid picking up auto parts, pumping a dumbbell and plucking a tissue from a box.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2025
The sessions included deadlifts, dumbbell bench presses, lateral bounds, resistance band drills, sprints and hurdles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2025
Carrasco, 36, was lifting weights before Sunday’s game against Seattle when he set down a 50-pound dumbbell and it flipped over, landing on his pinky, Showalter said before New York played at Washington.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 6, 2023
That's why I'd grown up holding a stick or a ball or a dumbbell.
From "Tradition" by Brendan Kiely
During a typical session, he does supersets of barbell hip thrusts, planks and walking lunges with 30-pound dumbbells.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 16, 2026
Researchers note that free weights, dumbbells, weight machines, and bodyweight exercises such as modified push-ups, wall presses, and knee bends can all help improve strength.
From Science Daily ● May 12, 2026
Two officers were filmed on the sofa watching television and using dumbbells at Abbygail Lawton's Wigan home.
From BBC ● Feb. 9, 2024
Once you loaded them with assorted screws, nails, nuts, and bolts they were like dumbbells used by bodybuilders.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 29, 2024
He had the dumbbells in his hands and he started a halfhearted set.
From "Tradition" by Brendan Kiely
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
