tumble

B1 Topic:Actions & Processes

Also spelled tumblin and tum’le

US /ˈtʌmbl̩/ See IPA manual

Freq #15322

Meanings

1

verb
To fall suddenly, often rolling over as you go down.

She lost her footing and tumbled down the stairs.
2

verb
To drop quickly and by a large amount.

Share prices tumbled after the bad news.
3

noun
A fall, especially one in which you roll over.

I took a tumble down the stairs and broke my tooth.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to fall suddenly, often... topple

Word family

Forms tumbledtumbles

Derived forms rumble-tumbletumble-cartumble-turdtumbler

Etymology

From Middle English tumblen (“to fall over and over again, tumble”), frequentative of Middle English tumben (“to fall, leap, dance”), from Old English tumbian, from Proto-Germanic *tūmōną (“to turn, rotate”). Cognate with Middle Dutch tumelen (whence Dutch tuimelen), Middle Low German tumelen, tummelen, German taumeln and Danish tumle.

tumblen Middle English tumben Middle English tumbian Old English *tūmōną Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# tumble

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** verb, noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈtʌmbl̩/
**Frequency rank:** 15322

## Meanings
1. To fall suddenly, often rolling over as you go down.
2. To drop quickly and by a large amount.
3. A fall, especially one in which you roll over.

## Examples
- She lost her footing and tumbled down the stairs.
- Share prices tumbled after the bad news.
- I took a tumble down the stairs and broke my tooth.

## Derived Forms
- rumble-tumble
- tumble-car
- tumble-turd
- tumbler

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: tumblen
- Root: tumben
- Root: tumbian
- Root: *tūmōną

## Etymology
From Middle English tumblen (“to fall over and over again, tumble”), frequentative of Middle English tumben (“to fall, leap, dance”), from Old English tumbian, from Proto-Germanic *tūmōną (“to turn, rotate”). Cognate with Middle Dutch tumelen (whence Dutch tuimelen), Middle Low German tumelen, tummelen, German taumeln and Danish tumle.

## AI Etymology
Tumble is from Middle English tumblen (“to fall over and over again, tumble”), frequentative of Middle English tumben (“to fall, leap, dance”), from Old English tumbian, from Proto-Germanic *tūmōną (“to turn, rotate”). Cognate with Middle Dutch tumelen (whence Dutch tuimelen), Middle Low German tumelen, tummelen, German taumeln and Danish tumle. In present-day use, it can mean to fall suddenly, often rolling over as you go down, or to drop quickly and by a large amount. Derived formations include rumble-tumble, tumble-car, tumble-turd, tumbler.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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