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.
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
If Earth behaved like a completely solid blue marble, its center of mass would line up with its geometric center.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 7, 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
The primary bathroom boasts a marble soaking tub, following the home’s elegant aesthetic.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 30, 2026
I place my glass on a marble coaster and cross my hands in my lap.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
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
To reach the start of the parade, organisers recommend using Hyde Park Corner and Marble Arch Underground stations.
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026
Among them are Tehran's Marble Palace, the Teymourtash house and the sprawling Saadabad Palace complex in northern Tehran, a former royal residence set within a vast park and home to several museums.
From Barron's ● May 10, 2026
Readers of “The Marble Faun” will find Hawthorne at the height of his descriptive abilities, particularly in his accounts of Roman masterworks, which qualify as artworks themselves.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 27, 2026
Marble mermaids lit the way as Davos climbed, bowls of burning whale oil cradled in their arms.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
Houdon’s Franklin bust exists in several autograph versions, including the marbles at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Philadelphia Museum of Art and two plaster versions in European collections.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 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 gas behavior at the microscopic level as particles move, collide, and exchange energy, much like marbles striking one another.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 10, 2025
“I’m a good marbles player. I’ve got a shooter that’s a butterfly agate.”
From Each Little Bird That Sings by Deborah Wiles
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
"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
A report from Earthjustice estimates that expanded oil drilling in California could threaten five marine species including humpback whales, sea otters, leatherback sea turtles, marbled murrelets and wild salmon.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2026
Ralf Rangnick's team will bring a touch of cosmopolitan sophistication to this summer's tournament in a marbled away shirt that's been designed as a nod to the country's cafe culture.
From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2026
He is soothed by the chill of the air-conditioning, by the beautifully carved plaster ceiling, by the voices that echo pleasantly in the marbled interior.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
“A5 Wagyu has more fat, which you see from the marbling inside. That’s what determines the highest grade.”
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
In 2021, the Nervous System duo struck up a collaboration with Amanda Ghassaei, an artist and engineer who had built an interactive physics-based paper marbling simulator powered by fluid dynamics and mathematics.
From New York Times ● Dec. 9, 2022
Overhead, the golden streaks marbling the clouds tarnished first to bronze, then to indigo.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
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