adobe
Americannoun
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sun-dried brick made of clay and straw, in common use in countries having little rainfall.
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a yellow silt or clay, deposited by rivers, used to make bricks.
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a building constructed of adobe.
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a dark, heavy soil, containing clay.
noun
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a sun-dried brick used for building
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( as modifier )
an adobe house
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a building constructed of such bricks
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the clayey material from which such bricks are made
Etymology
Origin of adobe
1750–60; < Spanish < Arabic al-ṭub the brick < Coptic to:o:be brick < Egyptian Demotic tb < Egyptian Hieroglyphic ḏbt
Explanation
If you've ever visited New Mexico and noticed earthy looking buildings everywhere, chances are they're made from adobe, a type of brick that's dried in the sun. The noun adobe originates from the oral form of Arabic al-tob, meaning "the brick," which is derived from the Coptic word tube, meaning "brick." In hot, dry climates like the American Southwest, Africa, and Spain, you'll often see buildings made of adobe. The word adobe can also refer to the material that these bricks are made of. The clay, water, and straw that go into the material give the bricks a natural-looking, informal appearance.
Vocabulary lists containing adobe
Bless Me, Ultima
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Aztec, Maya, and Inca Empires - Introductory
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The Distance Between Us
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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.
Adobe Chief Executive Shantanu Narayen, who joined the Photoshop-maker in 1998, announced in March he would be stepping down once a new CEO is appointed.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 21, 2026
Figma and Adobe came under pressure last month after Anthropic launched a new artificial intelligence tool to create visual designs.
From Barron's • May 14, 2026
And Adobe this week finalized its $1.9 billion acquisition of search marketing firm Semrush, which was founded in 2008.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 29, 2026
Software firms Adobe, Salesforce and ServiceNow all rose, a sign that the worries haven’t spread to other areas of the market where AI has sparked volatility in recent months.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 28, 2026
“You’d better! Photoshop me into a few,” I say to Mya, who is a wizard at Adobe.
From "Five Feet Apart" by Rachael Lippincott
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.
