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tumble home

American  

noun

  1. Nautical. an inward and upward slope of the middle body of a vessel.

  2. Also tumblehome a similar shape for the body of an automobile.

Etymology

Origin of tumble home

First recorded in 1825–35

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.

The Dutch ships in one respect excelled all others, in that they were the first in which the absurd practice of an exaggerated "tumble home," or contraction of the upper deck, was abandoned.

From Ancient and Modern Ships. Part 1. Wooden Sailing Ships by Holmes, George C. V.

That's what makes Sperril tumble home from the waist uppards.

From Soldiers Three - Part 2 by Kipling, Rudyard

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.