tumble
noun/ˈtʌmbl/
/ˈtʌmbl/
- [countable, usually singular] a sudden fall
- The jockey took a nasty tumble at the third fence.
- Share prices took a sharp tumble following news of the merger.
- Share prices took a tumble following the election.
Want to learn more?
Find out which words work together and produce more natural sounding English with the Oxford Collocations Dictionary app.
- [singular] tumble (of something) an untidy group of things
- a tumble of blond curls
Extra Examples- Her hair fell in a golden tumble around her shoulders.
- an untidy tumble of buildings
Word OriginMiddle English (as a verb, also in the sense ‘dance with contortions’): from Middle Low German tummelen; compare with Old English tumbian ‘to dance’. The sense was probably influenced by Old French tomber ‘to fall’. The noun, first in the sense ‘tangled mass’, dates from the mid 17th cent.
Check pronunciation:
tumble