metamorphosed limestone, consisting chiefly of recrystallized calcite or dolomite, capable of taking a high polish, occurring in a wide range of colors and variegations and used in sculpture and architecture.
any variety of this stone.
Carrara marble.
an object made of or carved from this stone, especially a sculpture.
Renaissance marbles.
a piece of this stone.
the fallen marbles of Roman ruins.
(not in technical use) any of various breccias or other stones that take a high polish and show a variegated pattern.
a marbled appearance or pattern; marbling.
The woodwork had a greenish marble.
anything resembling marble in hardness, coldness, smoothness, etc..
a brow of marble.
something lacking in warmth or feeling.
a little ball made of stone, baked clay, glass, porcelain, agate, or steel, especially for use in games.
(used with a singular verb) marbles, a game for children in which a marble is propelled by the thumb to hit another marble so as to drive it out of a circle drawn or scratched on the ground.
Slang. marbles, normal rational faculties; sanity; wits; common sense.
to have all one's marbles; to lose one's marbles.
consisting or made of marble.
like marble, as in hardness, coldness, smoothness, etc.
lacking in warmth, compassion, or sympathy.
marble heart.
of variegated or mottled color.
to color or stain like variegated marble.
to apply a decorative pattern to (paper, the edges of a book, etc.) by transferring oil pigments floating on water.
a hard crystalline metamorphic rock resulting from the recrystallization of a limestone: takes a high polish and is used for building and sculpture
( as modifier )
a marble bust
a block or work of art of marble
a small round glass or stone ball used in playing marbles
informal to succeed or do the right thing
informal to die
cold, hard, or unresponsive
white like some kinds of marble
1150–1200; Middle English marbel, dissimilated variant of Old English marmel (in marmelstān marble stone) < Latin marmor < Greek mármaros, akin to marmaírein to sparkle
Marble is a very hard rock that's a particular type of limestone. Fancy lobbies (and even bathrooms) are often lined with marble. Marble's unique qualities make it a popular stone for artists and kitchen designers alike — the white stone statues you find in most museums, some of them dating back to ancient Greece and Rome, are carved from white marble. High-end kitchen counters are often made from polished slabs of darker colored marble. A single marble is a glass ball swirled with marble-like colors, and "to marble" is to paint with similar swirls and whorls.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Luxe flooring includes slabs of Italian marble and oak, while the new kitchen serves up top-of-the-line appliances and marble counters, and the bathrooms are clad in marble.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 26, 2026
Ashgabat has the highest density of white marble buildings in the world, according to Guinness World Records.
From Barron's • Jun. 23, 2026
Had I already seen that statue or did it just look like another visage also rendered in marble a few galleries back?
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 17, 2026
New York has been decorated in a Knicks theme from the top of the Empire State Building to the paws of the marble lions outside the New York Public Library's Fifth Avenue branch.
From BBC • Jun. 11, 2026
“Chocolate cake, vanilla cake, carrot cake, sponge cake, coconut cake, marble cake, pineapple cake, mousse cake, nougat cake, cheesecake, pound cake, and Black Forest cake,” Miss Mortimer explained.
From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood
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.
