Verb used with the word "dumbbell"

I wonder what verb should be used with the word "dumbbell". Some sources suggest the verb "to lift". But my point is "lifting and lowering a dumbbell repeatedly as an exercise". It seems to me that "lifting a dumbbell" means "lifting it for once, not repeatedly lifting and lowering it", like when weightlifters lift weights.

It seems like that English doesn't use a well-established verb for this concept. Does anybody have an idea?

"Lift" really is right. It's what we generally do with weights, even though lowering under control is an important part of the exercise. Used alone, "lift" implies a number of reps and even sets suitable for the activity (which can vary, a 1-rep max weight might be more common with barbells, but makes sense here).

In fact, "lift" can be used in context without an object, as in "do you even lift".

If you were lifting a dumbbell to carry it back to the rack, you'd probably use "pick up" instead of "lift". Other verbs may be used for specific movements , like "curl", "press", or even "row" (rare, but used as a verb towards the end of that link).

“to train with ~”

It is true that many activities that use dumbbells are not strictly “lifting”, so if you want to be more general, and say simply that you are using dumbbells in a variety of physical activities, you can say:

• I train with dumbbells
• I work out with dumbbells

The verbs here are “to train”, and “to work out”.

• to train (v): 26. undertake a course of exercise and diet in order to reach or maintain a high level of physical fitness.
• to work out (v) to exercise in order to improve the strength or appearance of your body

Both of these are intransitive (i.e., they take no object).

“to lift”

But, if you want a transitive verb, then the best verb is indeed “to lift”

In English, the activity of using weights for muscle training is most commonly known as weightlifting, or sometimes just “lifting weights”. As a result, if you say “I lift dumbbells”, people will understand your meaning.

Avoid specialized terms for general writing

Within the fitness world, the act of lifting and lowering a weight to build muscle could be called “pressing” (raising up and down) or “curling” (bending at the elbow), depending on how you are using the weight, but I would not recommend these words because they are specialist terms, and would not be widely known to people who are not interested in weight-training. (Particularly “to press” is a verb which has many other meanings in English)

If the context implies that the activity persisted over a time interval, then just “lift(ed)” conveys the repetitive nature just fine. “He spent thirty minutes lifting dumbbells.”

Incorporating “repetitions”, often shortened to “reps” along with do/did might be useful if you want to explicitly convey the repetitive nature of the activity. A group of reps comprise a set; there are typically short rests between sets. “He did a set of reps with some dumbbells.”