dumbbell

American  

[duhm-bel] / ˈdʌmˌbɛl /

noun

dumbbells plural

1. a gymnastic apparatus consisting of two wooden or metal balls connected by a short bar serving as a handle, used as a weight for exercising.

2. a stupid person.

   Synonyms:

   dimwit, blockhead, fool, ignoramus, dunce

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dumbbell British  

/ ˈdʌmˌbɛl /

noun

1. gymnastics weightlifting an exercising weight consisting of a single bar with a heavy ball or disc at either end

2. a small wooden object shaped like this used in dog training for the dog to retrieve

3. slang a fool

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• dumbbells
  plural

Etymology

Origin of dumbbell

First recorded in 1705–15; dumb + bell ¹

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

I got a more alarming “bleep” during dumbbell thrusters: “Go deeper so your thighs are closer to parallel.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 4, 2026

“Man, I’ll be seeing his little Instagram posts, the benches, the dumbbell benches. Hey, he can get me whenever he’s ready.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 4, 2025

"The dumbbell thus acts a bit like the needle on a compass, allowing us to read off the z coordinate according to its orientation," says Prof. Dr. Dieter Meschede.

From Science Daily • Mar. 5, 2024

He was injured returning a dumbbell to its rack in Toronto’s weight room.

From Washington Times • Aug. 28, 2023

That's why I'd grown up holding a stick or a ball or a dumbbell.

From "Tradition" by Brendan Kiely