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:
If AI proves to be a bubble – and bursts – neocloud firms "are definitely going to face collateral damage," said Bradley Tusk of Tusk Ventures.
From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026
Such stubbornness was very much in evidence at the top of the dot-com bubble.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026
The optimists cite robust earnings growth; the pessimists see a bubble in danger of bursting.
From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026
If you needed any further reasons to be worried about the bubble that has inflated the stock market, look no further.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026
She tried each flavor, even though cotton candy bubble gum twist hurt her teeth.
From "Caterpillar Summer" by Gillian McDunn
To deliver these molecules into the brain, the researchers combined specialized nanoparticles, focused ultrasound and microscopic bubbles.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 1, 2026
Mahady recently presented a map at a meeting of global Hermès leaders that showed bubbles of wealth across America.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026
Born from Wolf’s real frustrations in a long-term relationship, the melodramatic hit bubbles with acoustic guitar and low, vocal flip-laced mourning to amplified crescendos, replete with punchy garage-rock drumming and Wolf’s howling chorus.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026
"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
Laughter bubbles inside me—an odd yet perfect pair.
From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
After simmering below the surface for years, anger at unaffordable housing in Spain has bubbled over and precipitated a general election that will be dominated by the crisis.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
In recent years, the outsized growth of plutocrats’ retirement accounts has bubbled up to public notice.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
The legal saga is a twist on the return-to-office tensions that have bubbled up at companies in recent years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 4, 2026
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
It bubbled, and then it ceased bubbling, and both of them sipped it and laughed, and each of the brothers found the verse and the poetry inside himself that he had never let out.
From "Norse Mythology" by Neil Gaiman
So it’s not exactly damning of something violent bubbling right below the surface.
From Slate ● Oct. 29, 2026
Capt. Tony Tubbs of the Los Angeles Fire Department said firefighters also responded to reports about flooding in the area and found water bubbling from the street.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
She reported it to the EA in July that year when she believed it was bubbling up rather than coming from boats.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
Aryna Sabalenka has learned the hard way that she has two brutal rivals in women’s tennis: Elena Rybakina, and her own bubbling frustration.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026
Then another tap, followed by a bubbling voice.
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
