tumble
Americanverb (used without object)
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tumbles,
present (3rd person singular)
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tumbled,
past participle, past
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tumbling
present participle
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to fall helplessly down, end over end, as by losing one's footing, support, or equilibrium; plunge headlong.
to tumble down the stairs.
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to roll end over end, as in falling.
The stones tumbled down the hill.
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to fall or decline rapidly; drop.
Prices on the stock market tumbled today.
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to perform gymnastic feats of skill and agility, as leaps or somersaults.
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to fall suddenly from a position of power or authority; suffer overthrow.
As one dictator tumbles, another is rising to take his place.
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to fall in ruins, as from age or decay; collapse; topple.
The walls of the old mansion tumbled down upon the intruders.
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to roll about by turning one way and another; pitch about; toss.
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to stumble or fall (usually followed byover ).
to tumble over a sled.
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to go, come, get, etc., in a hasty and confused way.
The people tumbled out of the theater. He tumbled hurriedly into his clothes.
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Informal. to understand or become aware of some fact or circumstance (often followed byto ).
He finally tumbled to what they were doing.
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Rocketry. (of a missile) to rotate without control end over end.
verb (used with object)
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tumbles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
tumbled,
past participle, past
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tumbling
present participle
-
to cause to fall or roll end over end; throw over or down.
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to throw or toss about; cause disarray, as in handling or searching.
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to put in a disordered or rumpled condition.
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to throw, cast, put, send, etc., in a precipitate, hasty, or rough manner.
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to cause to fall from a position of authority or power; overthrow; topple.
They tumbled him from his throne.
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to cause to fall or collapse in ruins.
The wreckers tumbled the walls of the building.
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to subject to the action of a tumbling box.
noun
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tumbles
plural
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an act of tumbling or falling.
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a gymnastic or acrobatic feat.
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an accidental fall; spill.
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a drop in value, as of stocks.
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a fall from a position of power or authority.
The great director took a tumble when he was replaced by a newcomer.
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a response indicating interest, affection, etc..
She wouldn't give me a tumble.
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tumbled condition; disorder or confusion.
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a confused heap.
a tumble of papers, ashes, pens, and keys on the desk.
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Chiefly New England. a haycock.
idioms
verb
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to fall or cause to fall, esp awkwardly, precipitately, or violently
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to roll or twist, esp in playing
the kittens tumbled about on the floor
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(intr) to perform leaps, somersaults, etc
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to go or move in a heedless or hasty way
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(tr) to polish (gemstones) in a tumbler
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(tr) to disturb, rumple, or toss around
to tumble the bedclothes
noun
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the act or an instance of tumbling
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a fall or toss
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an acrobatic feat, esp a somersault
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a decrease in value, number, etc
stock markets have taken a tumble
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a state of confusion
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a confused heap or pile
a tumble of clothes
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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tumblesimple
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tumblessimple
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have tumbledperfect
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has tumbledperfect
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am tumblingprogressive
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are tumblingprogressive
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is tumblingprogressive
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have been tumblingperfect progressive
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has been tumblingperfect progressive
Past
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tumbledsimple
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had tumbledperfect
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was tumblingprogressive
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were tumblingprogressive
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had been tumblingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of tumble
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English tum(b)len “to dance in acrobatic style” (cognate with Dutch tuimelen, Low German tummeln ), frequentative of Middle English tomben, Old English tumbian, (cognate with Old Norse tumba, akin to Old High German tūmōn “to reel” (perhaps from Old Low German ); compare French tomber “to fall,” from Germanic ); see -le
Explanation
When you tumble, you fall abruptly. You might trip over your shoelaces and tumble down a hill while flying a kite if you're not careful. To suddenly topple over or trip and fall to the ground is to tumble. Toddlers often tumble in sandboxes, while running on sidewalks, or as they climb down stairs. There's another way to tumble that is more deliberate: the form of gymnastics that involves roundoffs and back handsprings is called tumbling, and if you're able to do these tricks, you can tumble. The root is believed to be the Old English tumbian, "to dance about."
Vocabulary lists containing tumble
Going Down: Synonyms for "Fall"
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The Road to Freedom
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"The Tragedy of Hamlet," Vocabulary from Act 4
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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.
See Examples For:
They walk around obstacles, move across ordinary objects, and sometimes tumble from the edges of tables.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 25, 2026
Precious metals continued to tumble as higher oil prices fueled inflation concerns.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026
That also includes CoreWeave, which saw its shares tumble more than 25% last week as debt worries mounted.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 19, 2026
AI stocks tumble as a hot inflation reading and Anthropic’s slowing revenue growth extend the tech selloff.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
Then the minivan's side door slides open and a girl and boy tumble out.
From "Zara’s Rules for Record-Breaking Fun" by Hena Khan
Comcast stock tumbles after its chief financial officer announces that broadband subscribers will drop in the fiscal third quarter.
From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026
Jovic, by contrast, has been a quick study when it comes to adapting to the tricky footing, sliding and occasional tumbles on grass.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 4, 2026
ON Semiconductor tumbles after agreeing to acquire Synaptics for approximately $7 billion in an all-stock transaction.
From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026
Routines are made up of familiar stunts, jumps, gymnastic tumbles and classic cheer chants, but modified to account for the needs of teammates.
From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2026
When Ruby tumbles into the seat next to me, I’m not exactly thrilled.
From "Shouting at the Rain" by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
Bitcoin plunged nearly five percent after the news of the hack, while Ethereum dropped nearly six percent and BNB, native to Binance, tumbled nearly 10 percent.
From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2026
This past week, when Microsoft and Google forecast less AI spending than Wall Street analysts had projected, shares in several neocloud firms tumbled.
From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026
Investment among households and businesses tumbled in the quarter, with output in the construction sector declining once again, Insee said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
Rivian shares, which had tumbled more than 40% this year, rose more than 6% Friday to close at $12.16.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2026
Most of the towers had completely tumbled down, crushing the castle below, while the beautiful spirals of ice had crumbled in several places, parts of them whipping through the air, carried by the biting wind.
From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley
With many highflying technology stocks tumbling, you might be wondering what’s in store for the stock market heading into Tuesday’s midterm elections, especially given uncertainty about inflation and interest rates.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026
The next Tuesday, I found myself near midnight in the West Village, tumbling out of a stand-up comedy show at Audible’s Minetta Lane Theater with a friend, Syrie.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026
Despite traveling so quickly, the snakes were able to follow a narrow racetrack measuring just 20 centimeters across, demonstrating that their rolling movements are not simply uncontrolled tumbling.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 24, 2026
Telecom stocks are tumbling on news that SpaceX is aiming to secure 80,000 cell sites across the US, raising the specter of fierce competition between the industry’s big three and Starlink Mobile.
From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2026
The words came tumbling out of Doha as he tried to explain the situation.
From "Finding Junie Kim" by Ellen Oh
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