take a tumble
1. Literally, to fall suddenly to the ground. I took a bit of a tumble walking home from the pub last night, hence the bruises on my face.
2. To suffer a sudden fall or decline, as of profits, health, quality, etc. The price of shares in the tech giant took a tumble on Tuesday after it emerged that they had been manipulating sales figures over the last five years. My father has been doing remarkably well in his battle with cancer, but he has taken a tumble in the last few days.
rough-and-tumble
and rough-and-readydisorderly; aggressive. That was a rough-and-tumble football game. George is too rough-and-ready for me. He doesn't know how to act around civilized people.
tumble along
to roll or bounce along. The ball tumbled along, across the lawn and into the street. As the boulder tumbled along, it crushed everything in its path.
tumble down
to fall down; to topple. The old barn was so rickety that it almost tumbled down on its own. The pile of books tumbled down all over the floor.
tumble from something
to fall from something. The food tumbled from the tray and fell to the floor. The books tumbled from the shelf during the earthquake.
tumble into bed
to get into or fall into bed. Liz went home and tumbled into bed.
tumble into someone or something
to fall down and roll into someone or something. (Either accidentally or on purpose.) Liz tripped and tumbled into the table. She tumbled into Ken.
tumble out of something
to fall, topple, or drop out of something. Don't let the baby tumble out of the chair! Thechildren tumbled out of the car and ran for the school building.
tumble over
to fall over. The vase tumbled over and broke. I held Timmy up to keep him from tumbling over.
tumble over someone or something
to trip or stumble over someone or something and fall down. I tumbled over Fred, who was napping under the tree. I tumbled over a chair and fell down.
tumble over (something)
to fall over the edge of something. Stay away from the edge. I don't want any of you tumbling over it. Don't go too close. You'll tumble over.
tumble someone or something down something
to tip or push someone or something down something. Timmy tumbled his brother down the hill. Ann tumbled her laundry down the chute.