cobble

¹ American  

[kob-uhl] / ˈkɒb əl /

verb (used with object)

cobbled, cobbling

1. to mend (shoes, boots, etc.); patch.

2. to put together roughly or clumsily.

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cobble ² American  

[kob-uhl] / ˈkɒb əl /

noun

1. a cobblestone.

2. cobbles, coal in lumps larger than a pebble and smaller than a boulder.

3. Metalworking.

   1. a defect in a rolled piece resulting from loss of control over its movement.

   2. Slang. a piece showing bad workmanship.

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verb (used with object)

cobbled, cobbling

1. to pave with cobblestones.

cobble ³ American  

[kob-uhl] / ˈkɒb əl /

noun

1. New England, New York State, and New Jersey. (especially in placenames) a rounded hill.

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cobble ¹ British  

/ ˈkɒbəl /

noun

1. short for cobblestone

2. geology a rock fragment, often rounded, with a diameter of 64–256 mm and thus smaller than a boulder but larger than a pebble

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verb

1. (tr) to pave (a road) with cobblestones

cobble ² British  

/ ˈkɒbəl /

verb

1. to make or mend (shoes)

2. to put together clumsily

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cobble Scientific  

/ kŏb′əl /

1. A rock fragment larger than a pebble and smaller than a boulder. Pebbles have a diameter between 64 and 256 mm (2.56 and 10.24 inches) and are often rounded.

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Other Word Forms

• cobbled
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of cobble¹

First recorded in 1490–1500; apparently back formation from cobbler

Origin of cobble²

First recorded in 1595–1605; of uncertain origin; perhaps cob + -le; see cobblestone

Origin of cobble³

First recorded in 1885–95; perhaps from cobble ²

Example Sentences

This deal also flew very much under the radar—raising questions about whether the A-list couple have quit Brooklyn, or at least their Cobble Hill neighborhood, for good.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 15, 2026

IN 1963, Spike Lee was one member of the “first Black family in Cobble Hill.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 20, 2025

A third option: Cobble together chunks from columns A and B.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2024

In June 2010, about two weeks after Megan Waterman, a 22-year-old from Maine, was last seen alive, Heuermann filed an application to install a new fire escape at a building in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 15, 2023

As the story goes, the original Mr. Cobble wasn’t doing too well with the original Cobble’s Corner Grocery at the corner of Hector and Birch.

From "Maniac Magee" by Jerry Spinelli

Related Words

• assemble
• complete
• construct
• create
• fabricate
• mass-produce
• synthesize