rumbling

[ruhm-bling] /ˈrʌm blɪŋ/
noun
1.
Often, rumblings. the first signs of dissatisfaction or grievance.
2.
rumble (def 7).
Origin
1350-1400; Middle English; see rumble, -ing1

rumble

[ruhm-buh l] /ˈrʌm bəl/
verb (used without object), rumbled, rumbling.
1.
to make a deep, heavy, somewhat muffled, continuous sound, as thunder.
2.
to move or travel with such a sound:
The train rumbled on.
3.
Slang. to have or take part in a street fight between or among teenage gangs:
Rival gangs rumbled on Saturday afternoon.
verb (used with object), rumbled, rumbling.
4.
to give forth or utter with a rumbling sound:
to rumble a command.
5.
to cause to make or move with a rumbling sound:
to rumble a wagon over the ground.
6.
to subject to the action of a rumble or tumbling box, as for the purpose of polishing.
noun
7.
a deep, heavy, somewhat muffled, continuous sound:
the rumble of tanks across a bridge.
8.
rumble seat.
9.
a rear part of a carriage containing seating accommodations, as for servants, or space for baggage.
10.
tumbling box.
11.
Slang. a street fight between rival teenage gangs.
Origin
1325-75; 1940-45 for def 3; (v.) Middle English romblen, rumblen; compare Dutch rommelen, probably of imitative orig.; (noun) Middle English, derivative of the v.
Related forms
rumbler, noun
rumblingly, adverb
Synonyms
1. roar, thunder, roll, boom.
Examples from the web for rumbling
  • Colleges face a challenge to masculinity that bulging muscles, rumbling voices, and jacked-up pickup trucks won't remedy.
  • Again, the rumbling timpani signal an approaching tiger.
  • Let the bees go honey-hunting with yellow blur of wings in the dome of my head, in the rumbling, singing arch of my skull.
  • All the way back to the knight school he kept rumbling about in his mind seeking an explanation for what had occurred.
  • His rumbling low notes and airy higher ones, suggested sounds of nature.
  • The students and disciples of that generation are well into their middle years, rumbling along on mental capital from long ago.
  • When an elephant takes note of a swarm of bees, it emits a distinct rumbling call.
  • When you hear an airplane rumbling overhead, you can freeze, or you can take a step.
  • As they move through the forest they make plenty of rumbling, howling calls to ensure that they stay out of each other's way.
  • And in those deaths, public health experts hear the distant rumbling of a global catastrophe.
British Dictionary definitions for rumbling

rumble

/ˈrʌmbəl/
verb
1.
to make or cause to make a deep resonant sound: thunder rumbled in the sky
2.
to move with such a sound: the train rumbled along
3.
(transitive) to utter with a rumbling sound: he rumbled an order
4.
(transitive) to tumble (metal components, gemstones, etc) in a barrel of smooth stone in order to polish them
5.
(transitive) (Brit, informal) to find out about (someone or something); discover (something): the police rumbled their plans
6.
(intransitive) (US, slang) to be involved in a gang fight
noun
7.
a deep resonant sound
8.
a widespread murmur of discontent
9.
another name for tumbler (sense 4)
10.
(US & Canadian, NZ, slang) a gang fight
Derived Forms
rumbler, noun
rumbling, adjective
rumblingly, adverb
Word Origin
C14: perhaps from Middle Dutch rummelen; related to German rummeln, rumpeln
Word Origin and History for rumbling

rumble

v.

late 14c., "make a deep, heavy, continuous sound," also "move with a rolling, thundering sound," also "create disorder and confusion," probably related to Middle Dutch rommelen "to rumble," Middle High German rummeln, Old Norse rymja "to shout, roar," all of imitative origin. Related: Rumbled; rumbling.

n.

late 14c., from rumble (v.). Slang noun meaning "gang fight" is from 1946. Meaning "backmost part of a carriage" is from 1808 (earlier rumbler, 1801), probably from the effect of sitting over the wheels; hence rumble seat (1828).

Slang definitions & phrases for rumbling

rumble

noun
  1. Information or notification given to the police: The cops had gotten a rumble that gangsters were holed up (1911+ Underworld)
  2. A police search or raid; roust: If there's a rumble, we do the time (1940s+ Police)
  3. A fight between street gangs: Teenagers Injured in Brooklyn Rumble (1940s+ Street gang)
verb

To steal; loot: ending a run by rumbling everything from airline glasses to grub (1970s+ Airline)