to tumble dry

1 3.2

To use a machine that turns clothes with hot air to remove water

phrasal verb
/ˈtʌmbəl draɪ/

: secar en secadora

tumble dry low
wash and tumble dry

Examples

Some items I do tumble dry but I have been trying to hang out as much as possible especially if the weather is it's good.
Do not bleach, do not bleach, do not tumble dry, do not iron.
Make sure to tumble dry your clothes on low heat to avoid shrinking them.
After washing the towels, you should tumble dry them for best softness.
The care instructions recommend to tumble dry the fabric on a gentle cycle.

Synonyms

to tumble

vsto tumble dry

3 3.9

To dry clothes by turning them in a dryer

refers only to drying clothes by hot air in a rotating machine

How Dry

to tumble dry

1 3.2

to spin-dry

3.1

air-dry

Specialized

4.1

to drip-dry

3.5

Surface Forms

tumble dry infinitive

tumble dried past

tumble dried past participle

tumble drying present participle

tumble dries third person singular

Morphology

tumble + dry

The meaning 'to dry by rotating in a drum' is directly and compositionally built from 'tumble' (to roll/turn) + 'dry' (remove moisture); the method of drying is literal rather than idiomatic. This construction is transparent on clothing-care labels and parallels similar descriptions in other languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would likely infer the meaning.

Etymology

The phrase tumble dry comes from the image of clothes that tumble, or turn over and over, inside a machine with hot air until they are dry. So it means 'to dry' clothes in a machine that tumbles them.