somersault
noun
som·er·sault
ˈsə-mər-ˌsȯlt 
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
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.
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.
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