umbles

[ uhm-buhlz ]

/ ˈʌm bəlz /

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plural noun

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of umbles

late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use umbles in a sentence

I was glad to exchange my camp in town—lap of love as well as luxury though it was—for a home of my own, however 'umble.
Thirty Years in Australia|Ada Cambridge
We live in a 'umble abode, Master Copperfield, but have much to be thankful for.
The World's Greatest Books, Vol III|Arthur Mee and J.A. Hammerton, Eds.
I fear shes in the gall of bitterness, Mr. Vincent; she didnt take my umble advice, sir, not as a Christian ought.
Salem Chapel, v.1/2|Mrs. Oliphant
I rather enjoyed it, and felt important with Roberts, Low, and Scribner all clamoring for my "'umble" works.
Louisa May Alcott|Louisa May Alcott

I am the umble instrument of umbly serving him, and he puts me on an eminence I hardly could have hoped to reach.
The Personal History of David Copperfield |Charles Dickens

British Dictionary definitions for umbles

umbles

/ (ˈʌmbəlz) /

pl n

another term for numbles

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012