rubble
Americannoun
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broken bits and pieces of anything, as that which is demolished.
Bombing reduced the town to rubble.
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any solid substance, as ice, in irregularly broken pieces.
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rough fragments of broken stone, formed by geological processes, in quarrying, etc., and sometimes used in masonry.
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masonry built of rough fragments of broken stone.
noun
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fragments of broken stones, bricks, etc
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any fragmented solid material, esp the debris from ruined buildings
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quarrying the weathered surface layer of rock
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Also called: rubblework. masonry constructed of broken pieces of rock, stone, etc
Other Word Forms
- rubbly adjective
Etymology
Origin of rubble
1350–1400; Middle English rubel, robil < ?; rubbish
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.
They looked like little towers made of rubble that a wind might blow over.
From Literature
Aparecida was still looking through the rubble for her cousin's two children, ages six and nine, and boyfriend.
From Barron's
An AFP journalist in Nangarhar's Bihsud district said residents from around the remote and mountainous area joined rescuers in one village, using a digger and shovels to search for bodies under the rubble.
From Barron's
Footage from the time showed him, visibly in shock, sifting through the rubble for items that belonged to his wife and baby daughter.
From Barron's
It’s worthwhile sifting through the rubble of a selloff and asking how durable marked-down businesses are.
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.
