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adobe

[ uh-doh-bee ]
/ əˈdoʊ bi /
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noun
sun-dried brick made of clay and straw, in common use in countries having little rainfall.
a yellow silt or clay, deposited by rivers, used to make bricks.
a building constructed of adobe.
a dark, heavy soil, containing clay.
QUIZ
THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?
Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.
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In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

Origin of adobe

1750–60; Americanism;<Spanish <Arabic al-ṭub the brick <Coptic to:o:be brick <Egyptian Demotic tb<Egyptian Hieroglyphic ḏbt
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use adobe in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for adobe

adobe
/ (əˈdəʊbɪ) /

noun
  1. a sun-dried brick used for building
  2. (as modifier)an adobe house
a building constructed of such bricks
the clayey material from which such bricks are made

Word Origin for adobe

C19: from Spanish
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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