dumbbell en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (Canada) audio
- /ˈdʌm.bɛl/
Etymology
From dumb (“silent”) + bell (“a resonating instrument”). The term "dumbbell" originated in 16th-century England to describe silent exercise apparatus used in practicing the motions of ringing church bells noiselessly. To aid them in the practice of their physically demanding vocation, bellringers originally used weighted ropes on fixed pulleys to mimic the motion of ringing a church bell; since such apparatus made no noise while imitating the motion of ringing a swinging bell via a fixed pulley, they were called "dumb bells". Later, the rope-and-pulley weights evolved into simple hand-held weights used by ringers for strengthening the shoulder and back muscles heavily used in tower bellringing, and the term "'dumb bell'" evolved into the compound word "'dumbbell'".
Meanings
-
A weight training implement consisting of a short bar with weight counterpoised on each end.
Her eternal quest was for self-improvement, underscored also by the dumbbells she hoisted well before Jane Fonda made it fashionable.
2026 May 24, Alexandra Jacobs, “How Marilyn Monroe Gave a Smart Gloss to Her Image”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:He also had a room strewn with the toys of the trade and what-have-you: ropes and ironmongery, buoyancy aid and bagpipes, fetid socks and half-eaten haggises, dumbbells and ski-instructor sweaters.
1997, Pete McDonald, Climbing Lessons: Inside Outdoor Education, page 40:On the map Gansu is shaped like a dumbbell lying obliquely from east to west. Its best known city is Lanjhou, the capital, and also the gateway to the Silk Road. But we did not go there; we were heading for a relatively unknown city a few hundred miles away from Lanjhou, called Tianshuei.
2007, “The Years before the End of the War”, in A Girl From Shanghai: The Story of Lillian Hsu, a Medical Geneticist, a NTU Medical College Alumna, →ISBN, →OCLC, pages 35–36:He was exercising with the dumbbells in gym class today.
- (obsolete) A bell with no clapper, used as bell-striking practice or to strike as a form of physical exercise
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(derogatory, slang) A stupid person.
That's fool's gold, you dumbbell. Iron pyrite. Nobody would give you a dime for a ton of it.
2015, Floyd Merrell, Enigmas: Gold Fever, Space-Time Warps, Sierra Madre Magic:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| dumb-bell | alternative, rare | lexicographic | |
| dumbell | alternative, misspelling | lexicographic | |
| dumbbells | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Descendants
Relateds
Translations (100)
it stupida (a stupid person) · be гантэ́ль (a weight with two disks attached to a short bar) · fr haltère (a weight with two disks attached to a short bar) · fi typerys (a stupid person) · ca estúpida (a stupid person) · cy dymbel (a weight with two disks attached to a short bar) · he טֶמְבֶּל (a weight with two disks attached to a short bar) · de Kurzhantel (a weight with two disks attached to a short bar) · it scemo (a stupid person) · ru болва́н (a stupid person) · bg ги́ра (a weight with two disks attached to a short bar) · la stultus (a stupid person) · pt imbecil (a stupid person) · sh bȕčica (a weight with two disks attached to a short bar) · fr imbécile (a stupid person) · es imbécil (a stupid person) · hu súlyzó (a weight with two disks attached to a short bar) · it idiota (a stupid person) · ga tromán lúith (a weight with two disks attached to a short bar) · sv dumbom (a stupid person) · la stultum (a stupid person) · nl halter (a weight with two disks attached to a short bar) · tr halter (a weight with two disks attached to a short bar) · el βλακέντιος (a stupid person) · ro ganteră (a weight with two disks attached to a short bar) · pt haltere (a weight with two disks attached to a short bar) · es mancuerna (a weight with two disks attached to a short bar) · ko 덤벨 (a weight with two disks attached to a short bar) · eu jasotzeko pisu (a weight with two disks attached to a short bar) · lt svarmenys (a weight with two disks attached to a short bar) · fi käsipaino (a weight with two disks attached to a short bar) · grc ἁλτῆρες (a weight with two disks attached to a short bar) · it imbecille (a stupid person) · fa-ira دَمْبِل (a weight with two disks attached to a short bar) · et puupea (a stupid person) · tl pesas (a weight with two disks attached to a short bar) · it cretino (a stupid person) · pl tuman (a stupid person) · tr dambıl (a weight with two disks attached to a short bar) · pt estúpido (a stupid person) · es pendejo (a stupid person) · ca estúpid (a stupid person) · hu idióta (a stupid person) · la stulta (a stupid person) · no dumrian (a stupid person) · ru ганте́ля (a weight with two disks attached to a short bar) · mk тег (a weight with two disks attached to a short bar) · cmn 啞鈴 /哑铃 (a weight with two disks attached to a short bar) · ru ганте́ль (a weight with two disks attached to a short bar) · hu barom (a stupid person) · pl ciężarek (a weight with two disks attached to a short bar) · nn manual (a weight with two disks attached to a short bar) · ar دُمْبِل (a weight with two disks attached to a short bar) · nb manual (a weight with two disks attached to a short bar) · fa-ira دستوزنه (a weight with two disks attached to a short bar) · ko 아령 (a weight with two disks attached to a short bar) · cs činka (a weight with two disks attached to a short bar) · es estúpida (a stupid person) · fr idiot (a stupid person) · hu ostoba/hülye alak (a stupid person) · el αλτήρας (a weight with two disks attached to a short bar) · et hantel (a weight with two disks attached to a short bar) · cmn 蠢人 (a stupid person) · sk činka (a weight with two disks attached to a short bar) · sh бу̏чица (a weight with two disks attached to a short bar) · es pesas (a weight with two disks attached to a short bar) · es estúpido (a stupid person) · hu kézi súlyzó (a weight with two disks attached to a short bar) · sq dorak (a weight with two disks attached to a short bar) · sv hantel (a weight with two disks attached to a short bar) · ja 唖鈴 (a weight with two disks attached to a short bar) · ru тупи́ца (a stupid person) · fr idiote (a stupid person) · ja 鉄アレイ (a weight with two disks attached to a short bar) · bg тъпа́к (a stupid person) · fr balourd (a stupid person) · pl głupek (a stupid person) · it deficiente (a stupid person) · pt idiota (a stupid person) · eo haltero (a weight with two disks attached to a short bar) · pt halter (a weight with two disks attached to a short bar) · pt estúpida (a stupid person) · uk ганте́ль (a weight with two disks attached to a short bar) · vi quả tạ (a weight with two disks attached to a short bar) · ja ダンベル (a weight with two disks attached to a short bar) · lv hantele (a weight with two disks attached to a short bar) · de Hantel (a weight with two disks attached to a short bar) · et tola (a stupid person) · pl hantel (a weight with two disks attached to a short bar) · tr hanter (a weight with two disks attached to a short bar) · it manubrio (a weight with two disks attached to a short bar) · ug گانتېل (a weight with two disks attached to a short bar) · it stupido (a stupid person) · fi tollo (a stupid person) · ca manuella (a weight with two disks attached to a short bar) · da håndvægt (a weight with two disks attached to a short bar) · es tonto (a stupid person) · az hantel (a weight with two disks attached to a short bar) · sv dumsnut (a stupid person) · is handlóð (a weight with two disks attached to a short bar)