bubble
Americannoun
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bubbles
plural
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a nearly spherical body of gas contained in a liquid.
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a small globule of gas in a thin liquid envelope.
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a globule of air or gas, or a globular vacuum, contained in a solid.
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anything that lacks firmness, substance, or permanence; an illusion or delusion.
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the act or sound of bubbling.
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a spherical or nearly spherical canopy or shelter; dome.
The bombing plane bristled with machine-gun bubbles.
A network of radar bubbles stretches across northern Canada.
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a domelike structure, usually of inflated plastic, used to enclose a swimming pool, tennis court, etc.
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a protected, exempt, or unique area, industry, etc..
The oasis is a bubble of green in the middle of the desert.
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an area that can be defended, protected, patrolled, etc., or that comes under one's jurisdiction.
The carrier fleet's bubble includes the Hawaiian Islands.
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a zone of cognitive or psychological isolation, in which one’s preexisting ideas are reinforced through interactions with like-minded people or those with similar social identities.
You can’t live in your own partisan political bubble 364 days of the year and then expect to happily reconnect with your family at Thanksgiving.
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a group or circle of people who interact or socialize with one another because of familial ties, shared interests, etc..
I do try to expand my social bubble and look for opportunities to make new friends.
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pod. a small group of people who interact or socialize exclusively with one another in order to contain the spread of a contagious disease.
I’m only getting together with my quarantine bubble of five family members.
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Economics.
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Also called speculative bubble, asset price bubble. an inflated speculation that causes an unsustainable increase in the value of goods, property, or other investment.
The real-estate bubble ruined many investors when it burst.
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a sudden, temporary change or divergence from a trend.
In May there was a bubble in car sales, with three percent more being sold than last year.
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verb (used without object)
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bubbles,
present (3rd person singular)
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bubbled,
past participle, past
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bubbling
present participle
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to form, produce, or release bubbles; effervesce.
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to flow or spout with a gurgling noise; gurgle.
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to boil.
The water bubbled in the pot.
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to speak, move, issue forth, or exist in a lively, sparkling manner; exude cheer.
The play bubbled with songs and dances.
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to seethe or stir, as with excitement.
His mind bubbles with plans and schemes.
verb (used with object)
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bubbles,
present (3rd person singular)
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bubbled,
past participle, past
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bubbling
present participle
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to cause to bubble; make bubbles in.
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Archaic. to cheat; deceive; swindle.
verb phrase
idioms
noun
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a thin film of liquid forming a hollow globule around air or a gas
a soap bubble
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a small globule of air or a gas in a liquid or a solid, as in carbonated drinks, glass, etc
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the sound made by a bubbling liquid
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something lacking substance, stability, or seriousness
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an unreliable scheme or enterprise
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a dome, esp a transparent glass or plastic one
verb
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to form or cause to form bubbles
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(intr) to move or flow with a gurgling sound
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to overflow (with excitement, anger, etc)
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(intr) to snivel; blubber
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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bubblesimple
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bubblessimple
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have bubbledperfect
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has bubbledperfect
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am bubblingprogressive
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are bubblingprogressive
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is bubblingprogressive
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have been bubblingperfect progressive
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has been bubblingperfect progressive
Past
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bubbledsimple
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had bubbledperfect
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was bubblingprogressive
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were bubblingprogressive
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had been bubblingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of bubble
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English noun bobel; cognate with Middle Dutch bobbel, bubbel, Middle Low German bubbele, Swedish bubbla
Explanation
A bubble is a floating ball of air. You can also blow a bubble with gum. If you’re in your own little bubble, you’re living in a fantasy, separated from the rest of the world by a thin layer of your imagination. Whether you're blowing bubbles in the park or enjoying a bubble bath, those physical bubbles are made of liquid and gas. If something bubbles up, it comes to the surface. That can be an actual bubble or a just a feeling. A bubble can also be an idea that won’t work either because it’s a fantasy or because it’s an uncontrollable scheme, like a housing or economic bubble. The thing about bubbles is that they burst.
Vocabulary lists containing bubble
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.
See Examples For:
Beyond the rising cost of borrowing, some are questioning the risks of betting on an AI boom that could hit a wall, as the dot-com bubble did in 2000.
From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026
The most extreme Nasdaq-over-Dow divergence occurred in the days leading up to the top of the dot-com bubble, and we all know what happened next.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026
Our job was to sort through the massive mailer box of padded envelopes and bubble mailers that came in from record labels, big, small and in-between.
From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026
Traditional studios and TV networks have shed tens of thousands of workers in recent years after the streaming bubble burst and twin labor strikes paused projects.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
Gently I touched the bubble to leaf four.
From "Willodeen" by Katherine Applegate
"Who are we allowing to feed into us and manipulate what media we consume, which bubbles we're in?" she continued.
From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026
The method allows scientists to examine crystals that formed inside magma and measure microscopic gas bubbles trapped within them.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 14, 2026
Amid homage to Bowen, singing about bubbles and West Ham being 'massive', the visiting supporters also chanted repeatedly about former chairman David Sullivan.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026
Because their iconic treads do look like bubbles, and who wouldn’t want to walk on that?
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026
The asymmetry of the universe could be explained by the asymmetrical nature of these expanding bubbles that formed and merged.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
By depicting Oklahoma rez life through the eyes of the restless teenagers raised on movies that romanticize escaping home to find themselves, Harjo’s stories bubbled over with joy and ridiculousness.
From Salon ● Jul. 1, 2026
Sometimes called “massives,” these embryonic raves bubbled underground, often in former industrial districts with available, frequently forgotten spaces.
From Slate ● Jun. 25, 2026
Wharton School finance professor Jeremy Siegel, a cheerleader for staying invested as the 1990s bull market bubbled higher, made a surprising argument at the time.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026
Anger bubbled over again when it emerged Lord Mandelson was given security clearance for the role, despite concerns being raised by vetting officials.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
As if in answer, the pesky refrain bubbled to the surface of her whirling brain, in time to the soft click of the second hand marching ’round the clock face.
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
But the implication of overt coercion is always bubbling beneath the surface.
From Salon ● Sep. 25, 2026
With discontent still bubbling, Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said Wednesday the plan to tax artificially-sweetened drinks was now off the table.
From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026
Student anger against the chief justice's reported remarks has been bubbling since May.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
In the build-up to the convention, though, the Washington Post reported on some stories from Maine that had been bubbling up on social media about his temper and shouting matches with fellow lawmakers.
From Slate ● Jul. 25, 2026
As he dashes from house to house, ringing doorbells, his happiness reminds me of a bubbling pot of delicious lemon curd, cooking on the stovetop.
From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan
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.
