metamorphosed limestone, consisting chiefly of recrystallized calcite or dolomite, capable of taking a high polish, occurring in a wide range of colors and variegations and used in sculpture and architecture.
any variety of this stone.
Carrara marble.
an object made of or carved from this stone, especially a sculpture.
Renaissance marbles.
a piece of this stone.
the fallen marbles of Roman ruins.
(not in technical use) any of various breccias or other stones that take a high polish and show a variegated pattern.
a marbled appearance or pattern; marbling.
The woodwork had a greenish marble.
anything resembling marble in hardness, coldness, smoothness, etc..
a brow of marble.
something lacking in warmth or feeling.
a little ball made of stone, baked clay, glass, porcelain, agate, or steel, especially for use in games.
(used with a singular verb) marbles, a game for children in which a marble is propelled by the thumb to hit another marble so as to drive it out of a circle drawn or scratched on the ground.
Slang. marbles, normal rational faculties; sanity; wits; common sense.
to have all one's marbles; to lose one's marbles.
consisting or made of marble.
like marble, as in hardness, coldness, smoothness, etc.
lacking in warmth, compassion, or sympathy.
marble heart.
of variegated or mottled color.
to color or stain like variegated marble.
to apply a decorative pattern to (paper, the edges of a book, etc.) by transferring oil pigments floating on water.
a hard crystalline metamorphic rock resulting from the recrystallization of a limestone: takes a high polish and is used for building and sculpture
( as modifier )
a marble bust
a block or work of art of marble
a small round glass or stone ball used in playing marbles
informal to succeed or do the right thing
informal to die
cold, hard, or unresponsive
white like some kinds of marble
1150–1200; Middle English marbel, dissimilated variant of Old English marmel (in marmelstān marble stone) < Latin marmor < Greek mármaros, akin to marmaírein to sparkle
Marble is a very hard rock that's a particular type of limestone. Fancy lobbies (and even bathrooms) are often lined with marble. Marble's unique qualities make it a popular stone for artists and kitchen designers alike — the white stone statues you find in most museums, some of them dating back to ancient Greece and Rome, are carved from white marble. High-end kitchen counters are often made from polished slabs of darker colored marble. A single marble is a glass ball swirled with marble-like colors, and "to marble" is to paint with similar swirls and whorls.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Below, a circle of polished black granite set within green marble mirrors the dome — a reference to Albuquerque’s 1989 public artwork, “Site, Memory, Reflection,” and to the architecture of her Tunisian childhood.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
If Earth behaved like a completely solid blue marble, its center of mass would line up with its geometric center.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 7, 2026
Noth’s bedroom offers a more pared-back aesthetic, with enough space to accommodate a king-sized bed, while the adjoining full bathroom features marble finishes.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 28, 2026
Though Cooper has yet to issue a ruling, officials have now come up with 10 different ways using similar language to install Trump’s name on the exterior marble.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
She walked toward me, her high heels clicking across the marble floor.
From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson
They said ICE agents used a private parking lot when preparing to detain Oscar Belgal in Marble Hill.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
The Ride for Rori saw them cycling non-stop from the Arc de Triomphe in Paris to Marble Arch in London.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
Among them are Tehran's Marble Palace, the Teymourtash house and the sprawling Saadabad Palace complex in northern Tehran, a former royal residence set within a vast park and home to several museums.
From Barron's ● May 10, 2026
Former staff writer Steve Marble contributed to this report.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 28, 2025
Marble stairs lead down into the palace garden for Sophia's birthday game.
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
Houdon’s Franklin bust exists in several autograph versions, including the marbles at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Philadelphia Museum of Art and two plaster versions in European collections.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
But in daily life, ordinary objects such as rocks, dust, or marbles appear to follow the predictable laws of classical physics, staying in one place and moving along defined paths.
From Science Daily ● May 11, 2026
But Lee marbles other theories and indictments into his meat concerning the privilege of extreme emotion and behavioral honesty.
From Salon ● Apr. 23, 2026
If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, and expecting different results, England have collectively lost their marbles and their wickets.
From BBC ● Dec. 7, 2025
After Johnny Cakes bought me new shoes, I stopped by Too Bad’s to play marbles.
From Full of Beans by Jennifer L. Holm
I got to experience the HomeView up close in Apple’s lofty Tribeca showcase apartment, where one device sat on a marbled kitchen counter and another was mounted on the wall.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
"We've lost these plants now, and it will take years of work to restore the meadow so that marbled white butterflies can return," said Brown.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
"When a dam blocks stream passage, threatened and endangered salmon suffer; when forests with nesting trees for marbled murrelets are logged, threatened murrelets slide closer to extinction," the complaint said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 14, 2026
Then they cut to present day, and the marbled halls of the once-great Truth Teller newspaper are empty.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2025
The canvas overflowed with bright figures in swirling robes, writhing around long pillars and off marbled balconies.
From "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer
Their meat is regularly likened to snowflakes, in part because of the intricate patterns in its fat marbling, but also for the way that it dissolves in your mouth.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
Turkey's home strip features a marbled pattern, inspired by the Turkish paper marbling art of Ebru.
From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2026
All of these pieces have dramatic warps, waves, marbling and imperfections that make them unique and add to their beauty and history.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 8, 2026
The psychedelic swirls of the marbling infinity puzzles might seem daunting, he added, but there are zones of color that lead the way, one piece to the next.
From New York Times ● Dec. 9, 2022
Overhead, the golden streaks marbling the clouds tarnished first to bronze, then to indigo.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
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