cobble

[kob-uh l]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR cobble ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), cob·bled, cob·bling.

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

to put together roughly or clumsily.

Origin of cobble

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

cobble

[kob-uh l]

noun

a cobblestone.

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

Metalworking.

a defect in a rolled piece resulting from loss of control over its movement.
Slang.a piece showing bad workmanship.

verb (used with object), cob·bled, cob·bling.

to pave with cobblestones.

Origin of cobble

1595–1605; perhaps cob + -le; see cobblestone

cobble

[kob-uh l]

noun

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

Origin of cobble

First recorded in 1885–95; perhaps < cobble²

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for cobble

complete, fabricate, create, construct, synthesize, assemble, mass-produce, sew, repair, rebuild, revamp, reinforce, reconstruct, cobble, execute, compose, form, cast, process, make

Examples from the Web for cobble

Contemporary Examples of cobble

Just cobble it together, plonk it on your head, and smile a lot.
Flower Crowns Are Phony and Must Die
Sara Lieberman
September 5, 2014
A couple years ago, I was walking one weekday morning down Court Street in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn and came upon Robin Williams.
When I Met Robin Williams in Afghanistan
Matthew Kaminski
August 20, 2014
If only the Dems or the Reps could cobble one or two together out back in the shed.
Hey, Boomers—Millennials Hate Your Partisan Crap
Nick Gillespie
July 10, 2014
The Lees were the 1st Black Family to move into the predominantly Italian-American Brooklyn Neighborhood of Cobble Hill.
Spike Lee Blasts The New York Times’ Story on Brooklyn Gentrification in Fiery Op-Ed
Marlow Stern
March 31, 2014
He could call new elections, but he will more likely call on Renzi to cobble together a government where Letta failed.
Florentine Mayor Matteo Renzi to Lead Italy
Barbie Latza Nadeau
February 14, 2014

Historical Examples of cobble

One wheel struck a cobble stone, and the buggy lurched horribly.
Chip, of the Flying U
B. M. Bower
The Americans started to cross from Cobble hill, on the ice.
The Military Journals of Two Private Soldiers, 1758-1775
Abraham Tomlinson
I'm a bad sewer, but I dare say I'd manage to cobble up something.
The Leader of the Lower School
Angela Brazil
In a few days, the whole home-life on top of the Cobble centred around them.
Wild Folk
Samuel Scoville
I can perceive all things in about the same way that I can see all cobble stones.
The Positive Outcome of Philosophy
Joseph Dietzgen

British Dictionary definitions for cobble

cobble

noun

short for cobblestone

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

(tr) to pave (a road) with cobblestones

Word Origin for cobble

C15 (in cobblestone): from cob 1

cobble

verb (tr)

to make or mend (shoes)

to put together clumsily

Word Origin for cobble

C15: back formation from cobbler 1

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for cobble

"paving stone; worn, rounded stone," c.1600, earlier cobblestone, probably a diminutive of cob in some sense. The verb in this sense is from 1690s. Related: Cobbled; cobbling.

"to mend clumsily," late 15c., perhaps a back-formation from cobbler (n.1), or from cob, via a notion of lumps. Related: Cobbled; cobbling.

cobble in Science

cobble

[kŏb′əl]

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.