to fall helplessly down, end over end, as by losing one's footing, support, or equilibrium; plunge headlong: to tumble down the stairs.
2.
to roll end over end, as in falling: The stones tumbled down the hill.
3.
to fall or decline rapidly; drop: Prices on the stock market tumbled today.
4.
to perform gymnastic feats of skill and agility, as leaps or somersaults.
5.
to fall suddenly from a position of power or authority; suffer overthrow: As one dictator tumbles, another is rising to take his place.
6.
to fall in ruins, as from age or decay; collapse; topple: The walls of the old mansion tumbled down upon the intruders.
7.
to roll about by turning one way and another; pitch about; toss.
8.
to stumble or fall (usually fol. by over): to tumble over a sled.
9.
to go, come, get, etc., in a hasty and confused way: The people tumbled out of the theater. He tumbled hurriedly into his clothes.
10.
Informal. to understand or become aware of some fact or circumstance (often fol. by to): He finally tumbled to what they were doing.
11.
Rocketry. (of a missile) to rotate without control end over end.
–verb (used with object)
12.
to cause to fall or roll end over end; throw over or down.
13.
to throw or toss about; cause disarray, as in handling or searching.
14.
to put in a disordered or rumpled condition.
15.
to throw, cast, put, send, etc., in a precipitate, hasty, or rough manner.
16.
to cause to fall from a position of authority or power; overthrow; topple: They tumbled him from his throne.
17.
to cause to fall or collapse in ruins: The wreckers tumbled the walls of the building.
18.
to subject to the action of a tumbling box.
–noun
19.
an act of tumbling or falling.
20.
a gymnastic or acrobatic feat.
21.
an accidental fall; spill.
22.
a drop in value, as of stocks.
23.
a fall from a position of power or authority: The great director took a tumble when he was replaced by a newcomer.
24.
a response indicating interest, affection, etc.: She wouldn't give me a tumble.
25.
tumbled condition; disorder or confusion.
26.
a confused heap: a tumble of papers, ashes, pens, and keys on the desk.
27.
Chiefly New England. a haycock.
—Idiom
28.
take a tumble to, AustralianSlang. to come to understand.
[Origin: 1250–1300; ME tum(b)len to dance in acrobatic style (c. D tuimelen, LG tummeln), freq. of ME tomben, OE tumbian, (c. ON tumba, akin to OHG tūmōn to reel (perh. < OLG); cf. F tomber to fall < Gmc); see -le]
c.1300, "to perform as an acrobat," also "to fall down," perhaps from a frequentative form of O.E. tumbian "dance about," of unknown origin. Related to M.L.G. tummelen "to turn, dance," Du. tuimelen "to tumble," O.H.G. tumon, Ger. taumeln "to turn, reel." The noun is recorded from 1716. Tumble-down (1791) originally meant "habitually falling down" and was used first of horses; sense of "in a dilapidated condition" is recorded from 1818. Tumble-weed is attested from 1887.
to (cause to) fall, especially in a helpless or confused way Example: She tumbled down the stairs; The box suddenly tumbled off the top of the wardrobe.
Tum"ble\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Tumbled; p. pr. & vb. n. Tumbling.] [OE. tumblen, AS. tumbian to turn heels over head, to dance violently; akin to D. tuimelen to fall, Sw. tumla, Dan. tumle, Icel. tumba; and cf. G. taumeln to reel, to stagger.]1. To roll over, or to and fro; to throw one's self about; as, a person on pain tumbles and tosses. 2. To roll down; to fall suddenly and violently; to be precipitated; as, to tumble from a scaffold. He who tumbles from a tower surely has a greater blow than he who slides from a molehill. --South. 3. To play tricks by various movements and contortions of the body; to perform the feats of an acrobat. --Rowe. To tumble home (Naut.), to incline inward, as the sides of a vessel, above the bends or extreme breadth; -- used esp. in the phrase tumbling home. Cf. Wall-sided.
Tum"ble\, v. t. 1. To turn over; to turn or throw about, as for examination or search; to roll or move in a rough, coarse, or unceremonious manner; to throw down or headlong; to precipitate; -- sometimes with over, about, etc.; as, to tumble books or papers. 2. To disturb; to rumple; as, to tumble a bed.
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