tumbler

American  

[tuhm-bler] / ˈtʌm blər /

noun

1. a person who performs leaps, somersaults, and other bodily feats.

2. (in a lock) any locking or checking part that, when lifted or released by the action of a key or the like, allows the bolt to move.

3. a stemless drinking glass having a flat, often thick bottom.

4. (in a gunlock) a leverlike piece that by the action of a spring forces the hammer forward when released by the trigger.

5. Machinery.

   1. a part moving a gear into place in a selective transmission.

   2. a single cog or cam on a rotating shaft, transmitting motion to a part with which it engages.

6. a tumbling box or barrel.

7. a person who operates a tumbling box or barrel.

8. one of a breed of dogs resembling a small greyhound, used formerly in hunting rabbits.

9. Also called roller.  one of a breed of domestic pigeons noted for the habit of tumbling backward in flight.

10. a toy, usually representing a fat, squatting figure, that is weighted and rounded at the bottom so as to rock when touched.

11. a tumbrel or tumble cart.

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tumbler British  

/ ˈtʌmblə /

noun

1. 1. a flat-bottomed drinking glass with no handle or stem. Originally, a tumbler had a round or pointed base and so could not stand upright

   2. Also called: tumblerful.  the contents or quantity such a glass holds

2. a person, esp a professional entertainer, who performs somersaults and other acrobatic feats

3. another name for tumble dryer

4. Also called: tumbling box.  a pivoted box or drum rotated so that the contents (usually inferior gemstones) tumble about and become smooth and polished

5. the part of a lock that retains or releases the bolt and is moved by the action of a key

6. a lever in a gunlock that receives the action of the mainspring when the trigger is pressed and thus forces the hammer forwards

7. 1. a part that moves a gear in a train of gears into and out of engagement

   2. a single cog or cam that transmits motion to the part with which it engages

8. a toy, often a doll, that is so weighted that it rocks when touched

9. (often capital) a breed of domestic pigeon kept for exhibition or flying. The performing varieties execute backward somersaults in flight

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Etymology

Origin of tumbler

1300–50; Middle English: acrobat; tumble, -er ¹. Compare Low German tümeler drinking-cup, kind of pigeon

Example Sentences

And since each sphere, though itself dead, seldom carries fewer than 150,000 fertile seeds, and sometimes as many as a quarter of a million, every tumbler leaves a vast wake of potential Russian thistle plants.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 17, 2025

Meanwhile, the squad is composed of misfits, hotheads, third-year “seniors” and even a narcoleptic tumbler with a solid split.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 7, 2025

The Stanley x Bajaversary tumbler hoopla comes after Taco Bell announced that it will reintroduce five popular menu items from the past five decades.

From Salon • Aug. 22, 2024

The deflated grippers can conformably hold on to a tumbler without dropping it, even when a coin is dropped inside.

From Science Daily • May 3, 2024

The owner of the voice navigated his bulk through the doorway and jostled past Mr. Crane onto the porch, a tumbler in hand.

From "Out of Darkness" by Ashley Hope Pérez

Related Words

• beaker
• canteen
• carafe
• chalice
• decanter
• jug
• urn
• vial