dumbbell

[ duhm-bel ]

noun

1. a gymnastic apparatus consisting of two wooden or metal balls connected by a short bar serving as a handle, used as a weight for exercising.
2. a stupid person.

   Synonyms: dimwit, blockhead, fool, ignoramus, dunce

dumbbell

/ ˈdʌmˌbɛl /

noun

1. gymnastics weightlifting an exercising weight consisting of a single bar with a heavy ball or disc at either end
2. a small wooden object shaped like this used in dog training for the dog to retrieve
3. slang.
   a fool

Word History and Origins

Origin of dumbbell¹

First recorded in 1705–15; dumb + bell ¹

Example Sentences

To add weight, use a loaded trap bar, wear a weight vest, hold a kettlebell in front of your chest in the goblet position, or hold dumbbells at your sides.

From Outside Online

Slowing down at each dumbbell helps González evaluate and connect to his breath in the midst of physical exertion and fatigue, a process he carries over into his surfing.

From Outside Online

If it’s a dumbbell shape, a trained bat climbs onto the platform and gets a treat.

From Science News For Students

Instead they’ve opted to buy their own fitness equipment, from dumbbells to high-end gear, at times creating shortages of items such as stationary bikes.

From Quartz

If you don’t have any dumbbells at home, you can amp up the intensity of bodyweight exercises by using one limb instead of two, says Ken Look, club sports athletic trainer at Stanford University.

From Popular-Science

In the first place, they were pulling six gees by using a primitive dumbbell configuration.

From Project Gutenberg

It was the shape of a dumbbell—two spheres joined together by a short middle bar.

From Project Gutenberg

And hanging on patrol over this polar basin were two more of the dumbbell ships.

From Project Gutenberg

Above it, they caught a flicker from the forest of masts and the glint from a dumbbell ship.

From Project Gutenberg

Of unusual shape, both round and flat, so a cross-section looks like a dumbbell with angular ends.

From Project Gutenberg