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dumbbell

Syllabification: (dumb·bell)
Pronunciation: /ˈdəmˌbel/
Translate dumbbell | into Spanish
Definition of dumbbell

noun

  • 1a short bar with a weight at each end, used typically in pairs for exercise or muscle-building.
  • [as modifier] shaped like a dumbbell:a dumbbell molecule
  • 2North American informal a stupid person.

Origin:

early 18th century: originally denoting an apparatus similar to that used to ring a church bell (but without the bell, so noiseless or “dumb”); dumbbell (sense 2) (dating from the 1920s) is an extended use by association with dumb 'stupid'

dumbbell in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of dumbbell in the British & World English dictionary
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