different between tumble vs shrink

English

Etymology

From Middle English tumblen (“to fall over and over again, tumble”), frequentative of Middle English tumben (“to fall, leap, dance”), from Old English tumbian, from Proto-Germanic *t?m?n? (“to turn, rotate”). Cognate with Middle Dutch tumelen (whence Dutch tuimelen); Middle Low German tumelen, tummelen; and German taumeln.

Pronunciation

• enPR: t?m?b?l, IPA^(key): /?t?mbl?/
• Rhymes: -?mb?l
• Hyphenation: tum?ble

Noun

tumble (plural tumbles)

1. A fall, especially end over end.

   I took a tumble down the stairs and broke my tooth.

2. A disorderly heap.
   • 2008, David Joutras, A Ghost in the World (page 55)

     When at last we stopped in a tumble of bodies on the grass, laughing, and in Dad's case, out of breath, we were like little kids (I mean 5 or 6! After all I am 12!) at the end of a playground session.

3. (informal) An act of sexual intercourse.
   • 1940, 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?

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

tumble (third-person singular simple present tumbles, present participle tumbling, simple past and past participle tumbled)

1. (intransitive) To fall end over end; to roll over and over.

   • He who tumbles from a tower surely has a greater blow than he who slides from a molehill.

   • 1907, Robert W. Chambers, The Younger Set

     “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. […]”
2. (intransitive) To perform gymnastics such as somersaults, rolls, and handsprings.
3. (intransitive) To drop rapidly.

4. (transitive) To smoothe and polish, e.g., gemstones or pebbles, by means of a rotating tumbler.
5. (intransitive, informal) To have sexual intercourse.
6. (intransitive) To move or rush in a headlong or uncontrolled way.
7. To muss, to make disorderly; to tousle or rumple.

8. (cryptocurrencies) To obscure the audit trail of funds by means of a tumbler.
9. (obsolete, Britain, slang) To comprehend; often in tumble to.
   • 1851, Henry Mayhew, London Labour and the London Poor

     Speaking of this language, a costermonger said to me: "The Irish can't tumble to it anyhow; the Jews can tumble better, but we're their masters. Some of the young salesmen at Billingsgate understand us, — but only at Billingsgate; […]

Synonyms

• (to have sexual intercourse): bump uglies, have sex, roll around; see also Thesaurus:copulate
• (to make disorderly): mess up, touse

Derived terms

• tumble on
• tumble to

Translations

English

Etymology

From Middle English shrinken, from Old English s?rincan, from Proto-Germanic *skrinkwan?. Cognate with Dutch schrinken (“to shrink”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?????k/
• Rhymes: -??k

Verb

shrink (third-person singular simple present shrinks, present participle shrinking, simple past shrank or shrunk, past participle shrunk or shrunken)

1. (transitive) To cause to become smaller.
2. (intransitive) To become smaller; to contract.
   • And shrink like parchment in consuming fire.

   • 2018, VOA Learning English > China's Melting Glacier Brings Visitors, Adds to Climate Concerns

     Since 1982, it has shrunk by 250 meters.

3. (intransitive) To cower or flinch.

4. (transitive) To draw back; to withdraw.
5. (intransitive, figuratively) To withdraw or retire, as from danger.
   • 1881, Benjamin Jowett (translator), Thucydides

     They assisted us against the Thebans when you shrank from the task.

6. (intransitive) To move back or away, especially because of fear or disgust.

Synonyms

• (avoid an unwanted task): funk, shirk
• (withdraw or retire, as from danger): shrink back, retreat

Antonyms

• (to cause to become smaller): expand, grow, enlarge, stretch
• (become smaller): expand, grow, enlarge, stretch

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

shrink (plural shrinks)

1. Shrinkage; contraction; recoil.
2. (slang, sometimes derogatory) A psychiatrist or psychotherapist.

   Synonym: head-shrinker

3. (uncountable, business) Loss of inventory, for example due to shoplifting or not selling items before their expiration date.
   • 2011, Charles Sennewald & John Christman, Retail Crime, Security, and Loss Prevention: An Encyclopedic Reference, p. 227:

     Assuming the retailer's shrink is average or below, and the owner is comfortable with the level of shrink, perhaps nothing more need be done except to maintain vigilance and to monitor the shrink for signs of emerging problems.

Usage notes

• (therapist): The slang sense was originally pejorative, expressing a distrust of practitioners in the field. It is now not as belittling or trivializing.

Translations

References

• shrink at OneLook Dictionary Search
• shrink in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.