pebble
Americannoun
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a small, rounded stone, especially one worn smooth by the action of water.
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Also called pebble leather. leather that has been given a granulated surface.
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any granulated or crinkled surface, especially of a textile.
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a transparent colorless rock crystal used for the lenses of eyeglasses.
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a lens made from this crystal.
verb (used with object)
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to prepare (leather) so as to have a granulated surface.
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to pelt with or as with pebbles.
noun
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a small smooth rounded stone, esp one worn by the action of water
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geology a rock fragment, often rounded, with a diameter of 4–64 mm and thus smaller than a cobble but larger than a granule
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a transparent colourless variety of rock crystal, used for making certain lenses
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such a lens
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informal (modifier) (of a lens or of spectacles) thick, with a high degree of magnification or distortion
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a grainy irregular surface, esp on leather
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leather having such a surface
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informal a troublesome or obstinate person or animal
verb
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to pave, cover, or pelt with pebbles
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to impart a grainy surface to (leather)
Other Word Forms
- pebbly adjective
- unpebbled adjective
Etymology
Origin of pebble
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English pibbil, puble, pobble; compare Old English pæbbel (in placenames), papel-, popel- (in compounds); phonological relations unclear
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
I had found only a few pebbles of gold in the last week.
From Literature
Planetesimals were among the first sizable objects to form from the swirling disc of dust and pebbles that surrounded the young Sun.
From Science Daily
A tiny pebble seemed to be "smiling at me", she said.
From BBC
As he did so, his boot kicked a pebble from the ledge, and it fell to the shiny black floor.
From Literature
He collected a handful of pebbles, gave half to Abby and yelled, “Sink the ships! Sink the ships!”
From Literature
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
