tumbler

American  

[tuhm-bler] / ˈtʌm blər /

noun

• tumblers
  plural

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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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• tumblers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of tumbler

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

Explanation

The noun tumbler can refer either to an acrobat who performs gymnastic tricks or to a tall drinking glass with straight sides. If you own a lot of glass tumblers, you probably shouldn't let a troupe of tumblers practice back flips in your kitchen. Gymnasts are often called tumblers because they are skilled at tumbling, namely skills like round-offs, flips, aerials, and back handsprings. When an object is a tumbler, it's simply a drinking glass. Though today's drinking tumblers have flat bottoms, back in the 15th century they were rounded or pointed and couldn't be set down between drinks, or else they would topple over — or tumble.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tumbler tumblers

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

It was an unexpected decision - coffee has always been popular in southern states, traditionally served strong and frothy in a steel tumbler.

From BBC ● Nov. 29, 2024

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 draft offices started drawing names out of a tumbler today,” Cymbeline said.

From "Dactyl Hill Squad" by Daniel José Older

Starbucks Korea caused an uproar this year when it launched a "Tank Day" promotion on May 18, touting a new line of capacious tumblers for its coffee beverages.

From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026

Starbucks Korea initially clarified that the Tank Series was one of several series of tumblers it was rolling out in a campaign running from 15 to 26 May.

From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026

Some bowls, tumblers and other items were eventually delivered, Cernea said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 26, 2025

Photos of his grandchildren decorated the living room, along with a Mickey Mouse statue in a skeleton costume and a glass cabinet filled with commemorative tumblers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2025

Her moans echoed through the stairwell, and we rushed out of our apartments to calm her at once, bearing palm fans and sugar cubes, and tumblers of refrigerated water to pour on her head.

From "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri

Related Words

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