tombstoning

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noun

The practice of jumping into the sea or similar body of water from a cliff or other high point such that the jumper enters the water vertically straight, like a tombstone.

Similar
tombstone effectdrawbridgingManhattan effect
Scrabble 16
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Meanings

nountombstoning (uncountable)
  1. UKuncountableThe practice of jumping into the sea or similar body of water from a cliff or other high point such that the jumper enters the water vertically straight, like a tombstone.
  2. uncountablecomputingThe process of (automatically) initiating software sleep mode on an app.
  3. uncountablebusinessAn unwanted effect in the manufacture of electronic circuit boards, in which a component stands up on end instead of lying flat.

    Synonyms: tombstone effect, drawbridging, Manhattan effect

  4. uncountablejournalismIn page layout, putting articles side by side so that the headlines are adjacent (also referred to as bumping heads), or so that headline from one article is adjacent to the photo from another.
  5. Southern USuncountableIn highway driving, a blockage in traffic caused by a semi-trailer truck attempting to pass another with insufficient acceleration.
  6. uncountableThe practice of leaving a marker in a location where a digital record has been withdrawn, in order to signify that the record had previously existed.
  7. uncountablemedicineA tombstone pattern on an electrocardiogram.
verb
  1. gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of tombstone

Synonyms & antonyms

nounAn unwanted effect in the manufacture of electronic circuit boards, in which a component stands up on end instead of lying flat.

Similar
tombstone effectdrawbridgingManhattan effect

Origin

From tombstone + -ing.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Dutch klipspringen
  • klipspringendiving off of a cliff
German Grabsteineffekt, Kliffspringen
  • Grabsteineffektunwanted effect in which a component stands up on end
  • Kliffspringendiving off of a cliff
Cite this entry
APA

tombstoning. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tombstoning

MLA

“tombstoning.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tombstoning. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tombstoning,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tombstoning.

Source: tombstoning on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.