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

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

For instance, each dumbbell at the Chargers facility is emblazoned with the club’s lightning-bolt logo.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 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

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

I rushed to the phone, stopping just long enough to hit my ankle into a dumbbell.

From "145th Street: Short Stories" by Walter Dean Myers