tomber

\tɔ̃.be\

/\tɔ̃.be\/ verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“tomber” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #1,048 in French word frequency and used as a verb.

#1,048
frequency rank, French
6
letters
9
tracked misspellings
16
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Être entraîné en bas par son poids.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

tomber vs tome
67% similar
tomber vs tomes
67% similar
tomber vs tower
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for tomber
PropertyValue
Headwordtomber
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\tɔ̃.be\
Letters6
Frequency rank#1,048
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs16
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “tomber” sits in French frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). tomber lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for tomber is 6 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \tɔ̃.be\. Corpus data places it at rank #1,048 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 28 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for tomber, with forms such as "otmber", "tmober", and "tobmer". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 16 confusable-pair relationships, "tome", "tomes", "tower", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is tomber, spelled T-O-M-B-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Être entraîné en bas par son poids.
  2. 2
    Descendre rapidement.
  3. 3
    Perdre son équilibre ; être renversé ou abattu.
  4. 4
    Tendre vers le bas, de l’autre côté.
  5. 5
    Surprendre, être extrêmement surpris de quelque chose, dans les expressions :
  6. 6
    Se détacher.
  7. 7
    Se jeter, se précipiter, fondre sur quelqu’un, sur quelque chose, le charger, l’attaquer vigoureusement.
  8. 8
    Entreprendre à dire des choses dures ou désobligeantes.
  9. 9
    Découvrir par hasard, fortuitement (toujours suivi de sur).
  10. 10
    Arriver inopinément.
  11. 11
    Se trouver fortuitement, subitement dans une situation désavantageuse, dans une position fâcheuse.
  12. 12
    Devenir, en parlant d’un état physique ou moral, le plus souvent fâcheux, où l’on se trouve plus ou moins brusquement.
  13. 13
    Pécher.
  14. 14
    Dégénérer, descendre, se laisser aller à quelque chose de blâmable.
  15. 15
    Passer d’un état positif à un état défavorable.
  16. 16
    Déchoir de réputation, de crédit, perdre de sa vogue.
  17. 17
    Succomber ; périr ; s’anéantir.
  18. 18
    Ne pas réussir.
  19. 19
    Être arrêté ou se faire prendre, en parlant d’un acte de délinquance.
  20. 20
    Cesser ; discontinuer.
  21. 21
    Se porter sur ; atteindre ; frapper.
  22. 22
    Échoir.
  23. 23
    Joindre, coïncider, aboutir, tant au sens physique qu’au sens moral.
  24. 24
    Avoir lieu ; se dérouler.
  25. 25
    Utilisé pour donner une menace de correction, de châtiment.
  26. 26
    Ôter ; enlever.
  27. 27
    Vaincre, l’emporter sur quelqu’un.
  28. 28
    Séduire.

Synonyms

chuterdégringolervaldinguerchoirchuterprendre la bûches’écroulerse casser la binettese casser la figurese casser la gueulese casser la margoulettese gaufrerse ramasservaldinguerdécouvrir

This word in other languages

drop(English)caer(Español)fallen(Deutsch)cair(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: otmber,tmober,tobmer,tombber,tomberr,tombre,tomebr,tommber,ttomber

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of tomber - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

otmber2tmober2tobmer2tombber1tomberr1tombre2tomebr2tommber1
Edit distance from "tomber"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "tomber"?
"tomber" is spelled T-O-M-B-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is \tɔ̃.be\.
What does "tomber" mean?
As a verb, "tomber" means: Être entraîné en bas par son poids.
What words are commonly confused with "tomber"?
"tomber" is commonly confused with "tome", "tomes", "tower". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "tomber"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tomber" is \tɔ̃.be\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "tomber" come from?
"tomber" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “tomber”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is T-O-M-B-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \tɔ̃.be\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “tome” - see the side-by-side comparison. tomber vs tome
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list