1
: a short bar with weights at each end that is used usually in pairs for exercise
2
: a stupid person : dummy
Synonyms
- airhead
- birdbrain
- blockhead
- bonehead
- bubblehead
- chowderhead
- chucklehead
- clodpoll
- clodpole
- clot [British]
- cluck
- clunk
- cretin
- cuddy [British dialect]
- cuddie
- deadhead
- dim bulb [slang]
- dimwit
- dip
- dodo
- dolt
- donkey
- doofus [slang]
- dope
- dork [slang]
- dullard
- dum-dum
- dumbhead
- dummkopf
- dummy
- dunce
- dunderhead
- fathead
- gander
- golem
- goof
- goon
- half-wit
- hammerhead
- hardhead
- idiot
- ignoramus
- imbecile
- jackass
- know-nothing
- knucklehead
- lamebrain
- loggerhead [chiefly dialect]
- loon
- lump
- lunkhead
- meathead
- mome [archaic]
- moron
- mug [chiefly British]
- mutt
- natural
- nimrod [slang]
- nincompoop
- ninny
- ninnyhammer
- nit [chiefly British]
- nitwit
- noddy
- noodle
- numskull
- numbskull
- oaf
- pinhead
- prat [British]
- ratbag [chiefly Australian]
- saphead
- schlub [slang]
- shlub
- schnook [slang]
- simpleton
- stock
- stupe
- stupid
- thickhead
- turkey
- woodenhead
- yahoo
- yo-yo
Examples of dumbbell in a Sentence
I feel like a dumbbell for making such a stupid mistake.
no, you're not a dumbbell—this is one of the hardest courses the school offers
Recent Examples on the Web
Here’s how: Hold a dumbbell in each hand, with your feet hip-width apart.
—
Kelly Burch Published, Verywell Health, 7 Feb. 2025
The treadmill provides the same opportunity that walking across the parking lot offers; and swimming or rowing a boat works many of the same muscles that weightlifters target with dumbbells and barbells.
—Daryl Austin, USA TODAY, 29 Jan. 2025
Shedding these microbes onto an exercise mat versus a dumbbell is especially problematic, Tetro said, because exercise mats are like petri dishes.
—Melanie Radzicki McManus, CNN, 25 Jan. 2025
Transform your upper-body workouts with a simple pull-up bar and an adjustable dumbbell set.
—Emma Yasinski, New York Times, 23 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for dumbbell 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Kelly Burch Published, Verywell Health, 7 Feb. 2025
The treadmill provides the same opportunity that walking across the parking lot offers; and swimming or rowing a boat works many of the same muscles that weightlifters target with dumbbells and barbells.
—Daryl Austin, USA TODAY, 29 Jan. 2025
Shedding these microbes onto an exercise mat versus a dumbbell is especially problematic, Tetro said, because exercise mats are like petri dishes.
—Melanie Radzicki McManus, CNN, 25 Jan. 2025
Transform your upper-body workouts with a simple pull-up bar and an adjustable dumbbell set.
—Emma Yasinski, New York Times, 23 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for dumbbell
Articles Related to dumbbell
Dictionary Entries Near dumbbell
Cite this Entry
“Dumbbell.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dumbbell. Accessed 23 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
dumbbell
noun
dumb·bell
ˈdəm-ˌbel 
1
: a bar with weights at the ends that is usually used for exercise or building strength
2
: a stupid person : dummy entry 1
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