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View synonyms for rubble

rubble

[ ruhb-uhl roo-buhl ]

noun

  1. broken bits and pieces of anything, as that which is demolished:

    Bombing reduced the town to rubble.

  2. any solid substance, as ice, in irregularly broken pieces.
  3. rough fragments of broken stone, formed by geological processes, in quarrying, etc., and sometimes used in masonry.
  4. masonry built of rough fragments of broken stone.


rubble

/ ˈrʌbəl /

noun

  1. fragments of broken stones, bricks, etc
  2. any fragmented solid material, esp the debris from ruined buildings
  3. quarrying the weathered surface layer of rock
  4. Also calledrubblework masonry constructed of broken pieces of rock, stone, etc
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Derived Forms

  • ˈrubbly, adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of rubble1

1350–1400; Middle English rubel, robil < ?; rubbish
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Word History and Origins

Origin of rubble1

C14 robyl ; perhaps related to Middle English rubben to rub, or to rubbish
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Example Sentences

He envisions snake bots slithering through earthquake rubble to search for survivors.

He envisions snake bots slithering through earthquake rubble to search for survivors or wriggling inside large machinery to perform inspections.

China just scooped up some rubble from the moon and should be bringing those materials back to Earth in just a few days.

That’s precisely the goal come October 20, when OSIRIS-REx will plunge down toward the surface of the asteroid and attempt to scoop up some rubble and dust from the surface.

That might seem like a hassle, but it would be a small price to pay to get some rubble from a rock 200 million miles away.

Pages from the Quran fluttered in the air before landing gently on the rubble.

And there are a few nice things buried beneath the rubble that I could use in my apartment.

If we enter with hammer in hand, we may leave with merely dust and rubble on our faces.

Within 10 seconds, his target vanishes in a muted cloud of smoke and rubble 7,000 miles away.

They broke off into groups of a dozen and got to work collecting bricks and salvageable materials from the rubble.

It is a common practice in erecting buildings with a facing of Kentish rag rubble to back up the stonework with bricks.

The rais house was a typical sample of the ordinary mountain cabin; walled with rough stone rubble, and floored with beaten earth.

A bright glow shone on the rubble within, and smoke and sparks came merrily from the chimney.

Suddenly the wheels jolted on a rubble of loose stones; the carriage was swung sideways.

As noted above, these streams are normally clear, swift and have steep gradients and many rubble and gravel riffles.

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rubbityrubblework