Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

tumble on

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.41 in modern English

Syllables: tum-ble on
IPA

12

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

2

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To accidentally encounter (a person or situation).

Transitive verb

Example Sentences

"“I’m luck to have fallen upon you, Kemp. You must help me. Fancy tumbling on you just now! I’m in a devilish scrape […]”"
"“He murdered the man all right. I tumbled on the truth by the merest accident, when I’d pretty nearly chucked the whole job.”"
"1931, E. Phillips Oppenheim, “What Sir Stephen Forgot” in Sinners Beware, Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1932, p. 158, (first published as “In the Strongroom” in Collier’s Weekly, 11 April, 1931), “If it isn’t Peter Hames?” he cried. “God bless my soul! They told us over in New York that you were living in these parts, but to tumble on you like this! Why, we only landed here two minutes ago. I call this fine.”"

Usage

Transitive verb

Inflected Forms

tumbles on (present, singular) tumbling on (participle, present) tumbled on (participle, past) tumbled on (past)

Synonyms

chance upon happen upon stumble across

Questions

What does tumble on mean?: To accidentally encounter (a person or situation).

How to pronounce tumble on

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “tumble on”.
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