burble
Americanverb (used without object)
-
burbles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
burbled,
past participle, past
-
burbling
present participle
-
to make a bubbling sound; bubble.
-
to speak in an excited manner; babble.
noun
-
a bubbling or gentle flow.
-
an excited flow of speech.
-
Aeronautics. the breakdown of smooth airflow around a wing at a high angle of attack.
verb
-
to make or utter with a bubbling sound; gurgle
-
(intr; often foll by away or on) to talk quickly and excitedly
-
(intr) (of the airflow around a body) to become turbulent
noun
-
a bubbling or gurgling sound
-
a flow of excited speech
-
turbulence in the airflow around a body
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
burblesimple
-
burblessimple
-
have burbledperfect
-
has burbledperfect
-
am burblingprogressive
-
are burblingprogressive
-
is burblingprogressive
-
have been burblingperfect progressive
-
has been burblingperfect progressive
Past
-
burbledsimple
-
had burbledperfect
-
was burblingprogressive
-
were burblingprogressive
-
had been burblingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of burble
1275–1325; Middle English; perhaps variant of bubble
Explanation
To burble is to move with a rippling flow, the way water bubbles down the side of a small garden waterfall. A stream burbles as it travels along its bed, bubbling over rocks and branches. The verb burble captures both the movement of the water and the sound it makes as it moves. You could also say that a brook or stream or river babbles or ripples or even trickles. The word burble was first used in the 1300's, and it probably comes from an imitation of the sound a rippling, bubbling brook makes.
Vocabulary lists containing burble
"Jabberwocky" by Lewis Carroll
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
1-2-3 Scream!
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
The Woman Warrior
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
Even when he was trying to sound upbeat, the river of resentment would burble up in his mannerisms and his peevish voice.
From Salon ● Jan. 23, 2024
Much of the stream called Little Brook flows below the pavement in Seattle’s Lake City neighborhood, emerging for just a moment to burble through a small park shadowed by apartment buildings.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 19, 2022
The hot tub is a wide pan holding a steaming bath of lard and broth in which flaps of suadero burble happily alongside orange links of longaniza and ropy lengths of tripa, beef intestines.
From New York Times ● Jan. 24, 2022
Though Sirwan means “shouting river,” its sound was reduced to an indifferent burble.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 24, 2021
And then Ms. Rochambeau’s words burble up from inside me against my will.
From "The Benefits of Being an Octopus" by Ann Braden
Large producers typically seek to capture and sell incidental natural gas that burbles up, and they have a strong financial incentive to do so.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
Birds sing and the Lukaya River burbles along the valley floor.
From Barron's ● Nov. 26, 2025
One line of evidence came from isotope measurements of helium that burbles up in Tibetan springs.
From Science Magazine ● Jan. 9, 2024
This is a two-tiered falls, widening as it descends: The water takes a long plunge, crashes into a pool, then burbles back up and falls again.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 28, 2023
I don’t know if anything I said made sense, but somewhere between the gray sidewalk and the gray sky, a laugh burbles out of me.
From "The Benefits of Being an Octopus" by Ann Braden
A stone fountain burbled softly in his Japanese-inspired peace garden.
From BBC ● Jan. 10, 2026
After Justice Arthur Engoron handed down that hefty penalty in the fraud case, Eric Trump burbled some nonsense about how his dad had created the skyline of the city.
From Salon ● Feb. 29, 2024
Alabama and Texas A&M illustrated one of the byproducts that have burbled up out of college football’s ever-shifting ecosystem.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 9, 2022
A multi-tiered fountain burbled away in the front garden.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 16, 2019
After all the ringing, her voice burbled out: “You got Josie! Well, not actually, because you really just got my voicemail. But leave a message, and I’ll call you back!”
From "The School for Whatnots" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Ditto a reversal by NASA, whose then-leader enjoyed burbling in public about aliens but was soon assembling an expert panel to debunk such careless if crowd-pleasing talk.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
Meghan is a wealthy American woman living a royal dream, if you ignore the geyser of British tabloid bile constantly burbling in the background of her life.
From Salon ● Aug. 27, 2025
DOWNIEVILLE, Calif. — Patrice Miller, 71, lived by herself in a small yellow house beneath towering mountain peaks on the edge of a burbling river in this Sierra County village.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2025
Along the way, I spotted flashy displays of yellow balsamroot and purple lupine as my family meandered alongside burbling Cowiche Creek.
From Seattle Times ● May 18, 2024
We flew up and our feeds were burbling all sorts of things about where to stay and what to eat.
From "Feed" by M.T. Anderson
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
