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.
It is “a form of camaraderie with the ancients. We want our students to develop a human perspective towards the ancients, and not to see them as these white marble busts.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
The interiors are distinguished by polished marble flooring featuring dramatic gold and gray veining, bringing a distinctive design element to the contemporary residence.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2026
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
After a while, I watched Aunt Kitty cross the marble floor toward me.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
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
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
“The Marble Faun” was published in 1860, a year before Confederate guns fired on Fort Sumter, and seven years after the author’s college friend, President Franklin Pierce, appointed him U.S. consul in Liverpool, England.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 27, 2026
Just as the theme song from The Big Blue Marble begins, the four of us sing along: The earth's a big blue marble when you see it from out there.
From "Brown Girl Dreaming" by Jacqueline Woodson
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
"The other founders refused to turn the keys of artificial intelligence over to one person," Savitt continued, adding: "When they refused to let OpenAI be absorbed" Musk "took his marbles and went home."
From BBC ● Apr. 28, 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
In the tests, the team dropped marbles into sand that contained scattered pieces of painted gravel representing boulders on Dimorphos.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 8, 2026
"We could build a track and race marbles."
From "The Lemonade War" by Jacqueline Davies
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
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
Then they cut to present day, and the marbled halls of the once-great Truth Teller newspaper are empty.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2025
He sat staring at the marbled cover of the book, trying without success to shut the voice out of his consciousness.
From "1984" by George Orwell
“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
That extra marbling translates into depth, tenderness and a loaf that tastes intentional rather than apologetic.
From Salon ● Mar. 11, 2026
Does it require attention to marbling and dry aging?
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2025
“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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