Tumble — Defs

01 v. i. To roll over, or to and fro; to throw one's self about; as, a person in pain tumbles and tosses.

imp. & p. p. Tumbled; p. pr. & vb. n. Tumbling

1.
To roll over, or to and fro; to throw one's self about; as, a person in 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.

Phrases & compounds

To tumble home — 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.

02 v. t. 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 d…

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.

03 n. Act of tumbling, or rolling over; a fall.

1.
Act of tumbling, or rolling over; a fall.