tumbler
(tum′blər)
noun
- an acrobat or gymnast who does somersaults, handsprings, etc.
- a dog, such as a small greyhound, formerly trained to seize rabbits after attracting their attention by tumbling about acrobatically
- a kind of pigeon that does somersaults in flight
- an ordinary drinking glass without foot or stem: orig., such a glass with a rounded or pointed bottom, that would tumble over when set down
- its contents
- the part of a gunlock through which the mainspring acts upon the hammer
- a lever, pin, etc., whose position within a lock must be changed, as by a key or dial, in order to release the bolt
- a projecting piece, as on a revolving or rocking part, that strikes and moves another part
- a part moving a gear into place in an automobile transmission
- an easily tipped toy that rights itself because of the way it is weighted
- a device for tumbling laundered clothes about in hot air until they are dry
- tumbling box
See tumbler in American Heritage Dictionary 4
noun- One that tumbles, especially an acrobat or gymnast.
a. A drinking glass, originally with a rounded bottom.
b. A flat-bottomed glass having no handle, foot, or stem.
c. The contents of such a drinking glass.
- A toy made with a weighted rounded base so that it can rock over and then right itself.
- One of a breed of domestic pigeons characteristically tumbling or somersaulting in flight.
- A piece in a gunlock that forces the hammer forward by action of the mainspring.
- The part in a lock that releases the bolt when moved by a key.
a. The drum of a clothes dryer.
b. A tumbling box.
a. A projecting piece on a revolving or rocking part in a mechanism that transmits motion to the part it engages.
b. The rocking frame that moves a gear into place in a selective transmission, as in an automobile.
Origin:
Origin: Sense 2a, from the fact that it would tumble if put down
.
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