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Tumble vs Wobble - What's the difference?

tumble | wobble |

As nouns the difference between tumble and wobble

is that tumble is a fall while wobble is an unsteady motion.

As verbs the difference between tumble and wobble

is that tumble is (lb) to fall end over end while wobble is to move with an uneven or rocking motion, or unsteadily to and fro.

tumble

English

Noun

(en noun)
  • A fall.
  • I took a tumble down the stairs and broke my tooth.
  • An act of sexual intercourse.
  • * John Betjeman, Group Life: Letchworth
  • Wouldn't it be jolly now, / To take our Aertex panters off / And have a jolly tumble in / The jolly, jolly sun?
  • * 1979 , Martine, Sexual Astrology (page 219)
  • When you've just had a tumble between the sheets and are feeling rumpled and lazy, she may want to get up so she can make the bed.

    Derived terms

    * rough and tumble * take a tumble * tumble dryer * tumbler * give a tumble

    Verb

    (tumbl)
  • (lb) To fall end over end.
  • *(Robert South) (1634–1716)
  • *:He who tumbles from a tower surely has a greater blow than he who slides from a molehill.
  • *
  • *:“Heavens!” exclaimed Nina, “the blue-stocking and the fogy!—and yours are'' pale blue, Eileen!—you’re about as self-conscious as Drina—slumping there with your hair tumbling ''à la Mérode! Oh, it's very picturesque, of course, but a straight spine and good grooming is better.”
  • To perform gymnastics such as somersaults, rolls, and handsprings.
  • :(Rowe)
  • To roll over and over.
  • *1908 , (Kenneth Grahame), (The Wind in the Willows)
  • *:The two animals tumbled over each other in their eagerness to get inside, and heard the door shut behind them with great joy and relief.
  • (lb) To have sexual intercourse.
  • (lb) To smooth and polish a rough surface on relatively small parts.
  • To muss, to make disorderly; to tousle or rumple.
  • :
  • Derived terms

    * tumble to

    wobble

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An unsteady motion.
  • The fat man walked down the street with a wobble .
  • * {{quote-news
  • , year=2011 , date=October 29 , author=Neil Johnston , title=Norwich 3 - 3 Blackburn , work=BBC Sport citation , page= , passage=That should have been that, but Hart caught a dose of the Hennessey wobbles and spilled Adlene Guedioura's long-range shot.}}
  • A tremulous sound.
  • There was a wobble on her high notes.
  • (music) A low-frequency oscillation sometimes used in dubstep
  • Synonyms

    * (unsteady motion ): jiggle, quiver, shake, tremble * (tremulous sound ): quaver, tremble, tremolo, vibrato

    Verb

    (wobbl)
  • To move with an uneven or rocking motion, or unsteadily to and fro.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-06, volume=408, issue=8843, page=68, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= The rise of smart beta , passage=Investors face a quandary. Cash offers a return of virtually zero in many developed countries; government-bond yields may have risen in recent weeks but they are still unattractive. Equities have suffered two big bear markets since 2000 and are wobbling again. It is hardly surprising that pension funds, insurers and endowments are searching for new sources of return.}}
  • To tremble or quaver.
  • To vacillate in one's opinions.
  • To cause to wobble.
  • Synonyms

    * (move with an uneven or rocking motion ): judder, shake, shudder, tremble * (quaver ): quaver, quiver, tremble * (vacillate ): falter, vacillate, waffle, waver * (cause to wobble ): jiggle, rock, shake, wiggle

    Derived terms

    * wobbler * wobbly