Tumble — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

verb noun /ˈtəm-bəl/ tum·ble

Meaning & Definition of Tumble

Tumble (verb)

  1. to fall suddenly and helplessly
  2. to suffer a sudden downfall, overthrow, or defeat
  3. to decline suddenly and sharply (as in price), drop

Tumble (noun)

  1. a disordered mass of objects or material
  2. a disorderly state
  3. an act or instance of tumbling

Tumble (noun) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. an unorganized collection or mixture of various things

    "cleaned a crazy tumble of buttons, hair bands, loose change, and old candy wrappers out from the couch cushions"

    similar: agglomerate, agglomeration, alphabet soup, assortment, botch, clutter, collage, crazy quilt, farrago, gallimaufry, grab bag, gumbo, hash, hodgepodge, hotchpotch, jambalaya, jumble, jungle, litter, macédoine, medley, mélange, menagerie, miscellanea, miscellany, mishmash, mixed bag, montage, motley, muddle, olio, olla podrida, omnium-gatherum, pastiche, patchwork, patchwork quilt, potpourri, ragbag, ragout, rummage, salad, salmagundi, scramble, shuffle, smorgasbord, stew, variety, welter
    related: detritus, notions, oddments, odds and ends, sundries, accumulation, aggregate, aggregation, conglomerate, conglomeration, catchall, admixture, alloy, amalgam, blend, combination, commixture, composite, compound, fusion, intermixture, mix-up, bollix, chaos, confusion, disarrangement, disarray, disorder, dog's breakfast (chiefly British), mess, morass, shambles, imbroglio, knot, snarl, tangle

  2. the act of going down from an upright position suddenly and involuntarily

    "took a little tumble on the ice"

    similar: fall, slip, spill, stumble
    related: header, pratfall, misstep, trip, descent, dive, plunge, skid, slide, free-fall

  3. a state in which everything is out of order

    "her office is a tumble of books and papers, but somehow she can find everything"

    similar: chance-medley, chaos, confusion, disarrangement, disarray, dishevelment, disorder, disorderedness, disorderliness, disorganization, free-for-all, havoc, heck, hell, jumble, mare's nest, mess, messiness, misorder, muddle, muss, shambles, snake pit, welter
    related: anarchy, lawlessness, misrule, riot, knot, snarl, tangle, labyrinth, maze, web, maelstrom, storm, bollix, clutter, litter, mishmash, shuffle, hodgepodge, medley, miscellany, morass, motley
    opposite: order, orderliness
    near: method, pattern, plan, system

Tumble (verb) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. to go down from an upright position suddenly and involuntarily

    "the infant stood for a moment and then tumbled on the carpet"

    similar: fall, slip, stumble, topple, trip
    related: collapse, crumple, drop, flump, keel, plop, plunk, slump (over), crash, free-fall, nose-dive, plummet, plunge, precipitate, wipe out, skid, slide
    opposite: get up, rise, stand (up), uprise

  2. to go to a lower level especially abruptly

    "stock prices tumbled after the earnings report was released"

    similar: crash, crater, decline, descend, dip, dive, drop, fall, lower, nose-dive, plummet, plunge, sink, skid
    related: abate, decrease, de-escalate, die (down), diminish, droop, dwindle, ebb, lessen, let up, moderate, subside, taper off, wane, recede, retreat
    opposite: arise, ascend, lift, mount, rise, soar, spike, up
    near: accumulate, balloon, build, burgeon, enlarge, escalate, expand, grow, increase, intensify, mushroom, pick up, snowball, swell, wax

  3. to undo the proper order or arrangement of

    "tumbled all the clothes in her closet as she furiously searched for her favorite pair of jeans"

    similar: confuse, derange, disarrange, disarray, discompose, dishevel, disjoint, dislocate, disorder, disorganize, disrupt, disturb, hash, jumble, mess (up), mix (up), muddle, muss, rumple, scramble, shuffle, tousle, upset
    related: embroil, entangle, snarl, tangle, agitate, perturb, stir (up), unsettle, clutter
    opposite: arrange, array, dispose, draw up, marshal, order, organize, range, regulate, straighten (up), tidy
    near: align, line, line up, queue, classify, codify, methodize, systematize, systemize, adjust, fix, groom, make up, spruce (up), unscramble

  4. to fall down or in as a result of physical pressure

    "all we need is one strong wind, and that old barn is going to tumble"

    similar: buckle, cave (in), collapse, crumple, founder, give, go, go out, implode, yield, give way
    related: deflate, flatten, melt, melt down, break, break down, conk (out), crash, die, fail, give out, stall, burst, shatter, smash, splinter, split, crack, crumble, pop, snap
    near: inflate, rise, swell

Related Entry: Tumble (to) (verb)

Tumble (to) is a different word from Tumble. The synonyms below are for tumble (to), not for tumble.

  1. to have a clear idea of

    "I finally tumbled to the fact that I had been duped into getting involved in a phony investment scheme"

    similar: appreciate, apprehend, assimilate, behold, catch, catch on (to), cognize, compass, comprehend, conceive, cotton (to or on to), decipher, decode, dig, discern, get, grasp, grok, intuit, know, make, make out, perceive, recognize, register, savvy, see, seize, sense, twig, understand, pick up on
    related: absorb, digest, take in, realize, fathom, penetrate, pierce
    opposite: miss
    near: misapprehend, misconceive, misconstrue, misinterpret, misperceive, misread, mistake, misunderstand

Related Entry: Tumble (upon) (verb)

Tumble (upon) is a different word from Tumble. The synonyms below are for tumble (upon), not for tumble.

  1. to come upon unexpectedly or by chance

    "while we were out on a drive in the country, we tumbled upon a farm stand selling the best peaches I've ever tasted"

    similar: chance (upon), encounter, find, happen (on or upon), hit (upon), light (on or upon), meet, pitch (upon), stumble (on or onto), bump into, come across, run across, run against, run into, run upon
    related: luck (out, on, onto, or into), confront, face, discover, strike, turn up

Related Entry: Rough-and-tumble (adjective)

Rough-and-tumble is a different word from Tumble. The synonyms below are for rough-and-tumble, not for tumble.

  1. hastily or roughly constructed

    "the announcement of his candidacy was made from a rough-and-tumble stage put together just that morning"

    similar: artless, clumsy, crude, jerry-built, jerry-rigged, jury-rigged, rough, rough-and-ready, rough-hewn, rude, unrefined
    related: defective, faulty, flawed, imperfect, imprecise, inexact, inartistic, undressed, unfinished, unpolished, unworked, amateur, amateurish, inexpert, unprofessional, unskilled, unskillful, primitive, rudimentary, unshaped, unshapen
    opposite: refined
    near: faultless, finished, flawless, meticulous, perfect, perfected, polished, well-done, adept, adroit, dexterous, expert, masterful, masterly, neat, practiced, skillful, workmanlike, artful, artistic, sophisticated, exact, precise

Related Entry: Rough-and-tumble (noun)

Rough-and-tumble is a different word from Tumble. The synonyms below are for rough-and-tumble, not for tumble.

  1. a rough and often noisy fight usually involving several people

    "a rough-and-tumble broke out among the fans in the stands"

    similar: affray (chiefly British), brawl, broil, donnybrook, fracas, fray, free-for-all, melee, row, ruckus, ruction
    related: battle, clash, combat, conflict, contest, fisticuffs, handgrips, hassle, scrap, scrimmage, scuffle, skirmish, struggle, tussle, horseplay, roughhousing, altercation, argument, dispute, kickup, quarrel, spat, squabble, tiff, wrangle

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Tumble

The most common words with a similar meaning to Tumble:

agglomerate, agglomeration, alphabet soup, assortment, botch, clutter, collage, crazy quilt, farrago, gallimaufry, grab bag, gumbo, hash, hodgepodge, hotchpotch, jambalaya, jumble, jungle, litter, macédoine, medley, mélange, menagerie, miscellanea, miscellany, mishmash, mixed bag, montage, motley, muddle, olio, olla podrida, omnium-gatherum, pastiche, patchwork, patchwork quilt, potpourri, ragbag, ragout, rummage

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Tumble

Words with the opposite meaning of Tumble:

order, orderliness, get up, rise, stand (up), uprise, arise, ascend, lift, mount, soar, spike, up, arrange, array, dispose, draw up, marshal, organize, range, regulate, straighten (up), tidy

Related Words for Tumble

detritus, notions, oddments, odds and ends, sundries, accumulation, aggregate, aggregation, conglomerate, conglomeration, catchall, admixture, alloy, amalgam, blend, combination, commixture, composite, compound, fusion, intermixture, mix-up, bollix, dog's breakfast, morass, imbroglio, knot, snarl, tangle, header

Near Antonyms of Tumble

method, pattern, plan, system, accumulate, balloon, build, burgeon, enlarge, escalate, expand, grow, increase, intensify, mushroom, pick up, snowball, swell, wax, align, line, line up, queue, classify, codify, methodize, systematize, systemize, adjust, fix

Word Forms of Tumble

Inflections: tumbled, tumbling

Origin & Etymology of Tumble

Middle English, frequentative of tumben to dance, from Old English tumbian; akin to Old High German tūmōn to reel

First known use: 14th centuryi

Words & Phrases Containing Tumble

tumble dry, tumble to, rough-and-tumble, take a tumble

Frequently Asked Questions about Tumble

What does "Tumble" mean?

"Tumble" means to fall suddenly and helplessly. As an a verb and a noun, it is defined as: to fall suddenly and helplessly. It has 7 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Tumble"?

Other words for "Tumble" include agglomerate, agglomeration, alphabet soup, assortment, botch, clutter, collage and crazy quilt. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Tumble" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Tumble"?

There are 207 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Tumble". Common alternatives include agglomerate, agglomeration, alphabet soup, assortment, botch, clutter, collage, crazy quilt, farrago and gallimaufry.

What is the opposite of "Tumble"?

Antonyms of "Tumble" include order, orderliness, get up, rise, stand (up), uprise, arise and ascend. Near antonyms include method, pattern, plan and system.

How do you use "Tumble" in a sentence?

Examples of "Tumble" in a sentence: "cleaned a crazy tumble of buttons, hair bands, loose change, and old candy wrappers out from the couch cushions"; "took a little tumble on the ice"; "her office is a tumble of books and papers, but somehow she can find everything".

Is "Tumble" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Tumble" can be used as a verb and a noun, depending on the context.

How do you pronounce "Tumble"?

"Tumble" is pronounced /ˈtəm-bəl/ and divided into syllables as tum·ble.

What is the origin of the word "Tumble"?

"Tumble" comes from Middle English, frequentative of tumben to dance, from Old English tumbian; akin to Old High German tūmōn to reel. First known use: 14th centuryi.