cobble

¹

[kob-uhl]

verb (used with object)

cobbled, cobbling 

1. to mend (shoes, boots, etc.); patch.

2. to put together roughly or clumsily.

cobble

²

[kob-uhl]

noun

1. a cobblestone.

2. cobbles, coal in lumps larger than a pebble and smaller than a boulder.

3. Metalworking.

   1. a defect in a rolled piece resulting from loss of control over its movement.

   2. Slang.,  a piece showing bad workmanship.

verb (used with object)

cobbled, cobbling 

1. to pave with cobblestones.

cobble

³

[kob-uhl]

noun

1. New England, New York State, and New Jersey.,  (especially in placenames) a rounded hill.

cobble

¹

/ ˈkɒbəl /

noun

1. short for cobblestone

2. geology a rock fragment, often rounded, with a diameter of 64–256 mm and thus smaller than a boulder but larger than a pebble

verb

1. (tr) to pave (a road) with cobblestones

cobble

²

/ ˈkɒbəl /

verb

1. to make or mend (shoes)

2. to put together clumsily

cobble

1. A rock fragment larger than a pebble and smaller than a boulder. Pebbles have a diameter between 64 and 256 mm (2.56 and 10.24 inches) and are often rounded.

Other Word Forms

• cobbled adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of cobble¹

First recorded in 1490–1500; apparently back formation from cobbler

Origin of cobble²

First recorded in 1595–1605; of uncertain origin; perhaps cob + -le; cobblestone

Origin of cobble³

First recorded in 1885–95; perhaps from cobble ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of cobble¹

C15 (in cobblestone ): from _cob ¹

Origin of cobble²

C15: back formation from _cobbler ¹

Example Sentences

“My dad says he’s going to make this into an office,” Gibby said as she cobbled together a makeshift wardrobe of cargo pants, wrinkled shorts, and a few T-shirts.

Read more on Literature

Three governments in France have collapsed in less than a year, as they struggled to cobble together support in the fragmented National Assembly to pass a budget and narrow France’s widening deficit.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

BLS statisticians will have to cobble together the report after asking businesses and employees well after the fact about who was employed.

Read more on MarketWatch

We can see that Shakespeare really was an upstart compared to the Oxford and Cambridge wits, but also how he cobbled together a practical, hands-on education in Shoreditch.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Merely signaling intent to filibuster now shifts the burden to the majority, who must cobble together 60 votes just to proceed to a vote that only requires a simple majority for passage.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• assemble 
• complete 
• construct 
• create 
• fabricate 
• mass-produce 
• synthesize