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.
Inside the marble ballroom of the Las Vegas–ready restaurant on Long Island, the award ceremony flies by as I work my way through a plate of samosas and nurse a mango lassi.
From Slate ● Oct. 20, 2026
Below, a circle of polished black granite set within green marble mirrors the dome — a reference to Albuquerque’s 1989 public artwork, “Site, Memory, Reflection,” and to the architecture of her Tunisian childhood.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
The remains attributed to Samuel will be laid in a white sarcophagus made from marble quarried in the Prilep region of North Macedonia, public broadcaster BNT said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
Drawings and plans produced at various stages hinted at rooftop gardens, private elevators, deluxe executive dining facilities and enough marble to make an ancient Greek architect blush.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
As he continued east on F, he approached two of Washington’s greatest landmarks: to the left, the huge marble Patent Office.
From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson
The footage shows officers arriving Thursday in Marble Hill to find Oscar Belgal, 28, wounded, handcuffed and seated on the ground.
From Salon ● Oct. 10, 2026
The Ride for Rori saw them cycling non-stop from the Arc de Triomphe in Paris to Marble Arch in London.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
A child of immigrants, Vargas grew up in Marble Hill a neighborhood close to Inwood and Washington Heights, areas collectively known as little Dominican Republic.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 30, 2026
Protesters carrying placards with slogans like "no to racism" and "you cannot divide us" marched from near Marble Arch to Whitehall near the UK parliament for a planned rally.
From Barron's ● Mar. 28, 2026
Marble stairs lead down into the palace garden for Sophia's birthday game.
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
To confirm he still has his marbles, he was asked to draw a clock face displaying the time 10 minutes after 11.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026
But Lee marbles other theories and indictments into his meat concerning the privilege of extreme emotion and behavioral honesty.
From Salon ● Apr. 23, 2026
Before you scream, burst out laughing, or think I have lost my marbles, of course, there are very big differences between them.
From BBC ● Feb. 28, 2026
The simulations track how gas in the plumes behaves on very small scales, where individual particles move, collide, and transfer energy in a way similar to marbles bouncing into one another.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 18, 2025
Olmsted looked worn and gray, except for his eyes, which gleamed beneath his bald skull like marbles of lapis.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
I got to experience the HomeView up close in Apple’s lofty Tribeca showcase apartment, where one device sat on a marbled kitchen counter and another was mounted on the wall.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
"We've lost these plants now, and it will take years of work to restore the meadow so that marbled white butterflies can return," said Brown.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
"When a dam blocks stream passage, threatened and endangered salmon suffer; when forests with nesting trees for marbled murrelets are logged, threatened murrelets slide closer to extinction," the complaint said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 14, 2026
His marbled niche looks onto a koi pond, a patch of wisteria.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2025
From the table drawer he took out a penholder, a bottle of ink, and a thick, quarto-sized blank book with a red back and a marbled cover.
From "1984" by George Orwell
Their meat is regularly likened to snowflakes, in part because of the intricate patterns in its fat marbling, but also for the way that it dissolves in your mouth.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
Turkey's home strip features a marbled pattern, inspired by the Turkish paper marbling art of Ebru.
From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2026
All of these pieces have dramatic warps, waves, marbling and imperfections that make them unique and add to their beauty and history.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 8, 2026
This creation combined the centuries-old craft of paper marbling with a tried-and-true Nervous System invention: the infinity puzzle.
From New York Times ● Dec. 9, 2022
“Now we will add the cocoa to the rest of the batter and swirl it all around. That’s the marbling part. Maybe you want to do that?”
From "Louisiana's Way Home" by Kate DiCamillo
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