tumbler

(tumblər)

noun

  1. an acrobat or gymnast who does somersaults, handsprings, etc.
  2. a dog, such as a small greyhound, formerly trained to seize rabbits after attracting their attention by tumbling about acrobatically
  3. a kind of pigeon that does somersaults in flight
    1. 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
    2. its contents
  4. the part of a gunlock through which the mainspring acts upon the hammer
  5. a lever, pin, etc., whose position within a lock must be changed, as by a key or dial, in order to release the bolt
  6. a projecting piece, as on a revolving or rocking part, that strikes and moves another part
  7. a part moving a gear into place in an automobile transmission
  8. an easily tipped toy that rights itself because of the way it is weighted
    1. a device for tumbling laundered clothes about in hot air until they are dry
    2. tumbling box

See tumbler in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun
  1. One that tumbles, especially an acrobat or gymnast.
  2. 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.
  3. A toy made with a weighted rounded base so that it can rock over and then right itself.
  4. One of a breed of domestic pigeons characteristically tumbling or somersaulting in flight.
  5. A piece in a gunlock that forces the hammer forward by action of the mainspring.
  6. The part in a lock that releases the bolt when moved by a key.
  7. a. The drum of a clothes dryer.
    b. A tumbling box.
  8. 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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