somersault

noun

som·​er·​sault ˈsə-mər-ˌsȯlt How to pronounce somersault (audio)
variants or less commonly summersault
: a movement (as in gymnastics) in which a person turns forward or backward in a complete revolution along the ground or in the air bringing the feet over the head
also : a falling or tumbling head over heels
somersault intransitive verb

Examples of somersault in a Sentence

The gymnast turned a somersault.
Recent Examples on the Web Every May through November, giant manta rays come to feed, amassing by the hundreds, doing somersaults to catch plankton in their open mouths while snorkelers watch on in awe. Katie Lockhart, Robb Report, 9 May 2024 Zoë Schlanger What's interesting is that scientists and botany journals will do somersaults to avoid using human language for plants. Tonya Mosley, NPR, 6 May 2024 Instead she was pushed backward into the deep end and learned not just to swim but to do somersaults. Helena Andrews-Dyer, Washington Post, 8 Mar. 2024 Sung to console some children through the distress of a thunderstorm, that Richard Rodgers melody does artful somersaults between major and minor keys. Washington Post Staff, Washington Post, 13 Feb. 2024 The Lions increased their lead to 21-10 before, late in the second quarter, Stafford converted a fourth-down pass and followed with a 38-yard touchdown pass across the middle to Tutu Atwell, whose youthful somersault into the end zone epitomized the Rams’ joyous late-season surge. Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 15 Jan. 2024 The Jumbotron camera somersaults and shakes as the dancers fall to the ground, seemingly knocked unconscious by the aftershock. Abigail Covington, New York Times, 13 Oct. 2023 Morgan Pope shows off Disney’s new Indestructible robot, which can rollerblade, somersault, and perform other feats. IEEE Spectrum, 21 Nov. 2023 In 2021 a science module originally meant to launch in 2007 finally arrived, but since that time, it has been plagued by issues, including a misfiring thruster that briefly sent the station into a disturbing somersault. Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 21 Nov. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'somersault.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle French sombresaut leap, ultimately from Latin super over + saltus leap, from salire to jump — more at over, sally

First Known Use

circa 1530, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of somersault was circa 1530

Dictionary Entries Near somersault

Cite this Entry

“Somersault.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/somersault. Accessed 3 Jun. 2024.

Kids Definition

somersault

1 of 2 noun
som·​er·​sault
ˈsəm-ər-ˌsȯlt
: a leap or roll in which a person turns heels over head

somersault

2 of 2 verb
: to perform a somersault
Etymology

from early French sombresaut "somersault," derived from Latin super "over" and saltus "leap," from salire "to jump" — related to resilient

More from Merriam-Webster on somersault

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