dumbbell

[ duhm-bel ]

/ ˈdʌmˌbɛl /

a gymnastic apparatus consisting of two wooden or metal balls connected by a short bar serving as a handle, used as a weight for exercising.

a stupid person.

Origin of dumbbell

First recorded in 1705–15; dumb + bell¹

2 dunce, ignoramus, fool, blockhead, dimwit.

Of unusual shape, both round and flat, so a cross-section looks like a dumbbell with angular ends.

The Complete Book of Cheese |Robert Carlton Brown
Above it, they caught a flicker from the forest of masts and the glint from a dumbbell ship.

The Secret of the Ninth Planet |Donald Allen Wollheim
It was something like a dumbbell, covered with marine growth where it had been above the sand, but fairly smooth under it.

The Wailing Octopus |Harold Leland Goodwin
The next day he calmly chose the seat in front of the dumbbell—and proceeded to write a perfect examination.

The Plastic Age |Percy Marks

It's nice to feel she isn't being wasted on some dumbbell, isn't it?

Christopher and the Clockmakers |Sara Ware Bassett

dumbbell

/ (ˈdʌmˌbɛl) /

gymnastics weightlifting an exercising weight consisting of a single bar with a heavy ball or disc at either end

a small wooden object shaped like this used in dog training for the dog to retrieve

slang, mainly US and Canadian a fool