tumble

noun

1. a sudden drop from an upright position

e.g. he had a nasty spill on the ice

Synonym: spillfall

2. an acrobatic feat of rolling or turning end over end

verb

1. do gymnastics, roll and turn skillfully

2. suffer a sudden downfall, overthrow, or defeat

3. put clothes in a tumbling barrel, where they are whirled about in hot air, usually with the purpose of drying

e.g. Wash in warm water and tumble dry

4. fall suddenly and sharply

e.g. Prices tumbled after the devaluation of the currency

5. understand, usually after some initial difficulty

e.g. She didn't know what her classmates were plotting but finally caught on

Synonym: catch onget wiseget ontolatch oncotton ontwigget it

6. throw together in a confused mass

e.g. They tumbled the teams with no apparent pattern

7. roll over and over, back and forth

8. fall down, as if collapsing

e.g. The tower of the World Trade Center tumbled after the plane hit it

Synonym: topple

9. fall apart

e.g. the building crumbled after the explosion
Negotiations broke down

Synonym: crumblecrumplebreak downcollapse

10. fly around

e.g. The clothes tumbled in the dryer
rising smoke whirled in the air

Synonym: whirlwhirl around

11. cause to topple or tumble by pushing

Synonym: toppletip

1. 滚下;摔倒;跌落;翻滚而下
If someone or something tumbles somewhere, they fall there with a rolling or bouncing movement.

e.g. A small boy tumbled off a third floor fire escape...
一个小男孩从3楼防火梯上摔了下来。
e.g. The dog had tumbled down the cliff…
那只狗已摔下了悬崖。

2. (物价等)暴跌，剧降
If prices or levels of something are tumbling, they are decreasing rapidly.

e.g. House prices have tumbled by almost 30 per cent in real terms since mid-1989...
房价自 1989 年中期以来实际上暴跌了近 30%。
e.g. Share prices continued to tumble today on the Tokyo stock market.
东京股市的股价今天继续暴跌。

3. (水)冲刷，滚滚流过
If water tumbles, it flows quickly over an uneven surface.

e.g. Waterfalls crash and tumble over rocks.
瀑布飞流直溅，冲刷着岩石。
e.g. ...the aromatic pines and tumbling streams of the Zonba Plateau.
松巴高原芬芳的松树与湍急的河流

4. 突然闯入（某地）;陷入，浑然不觉地进入(某种状态)
If you say that someone tumbles into a situation or place, you mean that they get into it without being fully in control of themselves or knowing what they are doing.

e.g. Many mothers and children tumble into poverty after divorce...
很多母亲和孩子在离婚后陷入贫困。
e.g. There's no thought more pleasing than the prospect of tumbling into my apartment and slamming the door.
没有比一头冲进自己的公寓摔上房门更让我开心的事了。

5. see also: rough and tumble

相关词组：tumble downtumble over