dumbbell

American  

[duhm-bel] / ˈdʌmˌbɛl /

noun

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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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

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

“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

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

From Washington Times • Aug. 28, 2023

I could tell he was in a deep sleep because his full weight squashed into my intestines like a five-hundred-pound dumbbell.

From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas