pebble

[peb-uhl]

noun

1. a small, rounded stone, especially one worn smooth by the action of water.

2. Also called pebble leather. leather that has been given a granulated surface.

3. any granulated or crinkled surface, especially of a textile.

4. a transparent colorless rock crystal used for the lenses of eyeglasses.

5. a lens made from this crystal.

verb (used with object)

pebbled, pebbling 

1. to prepare (leather) so as to have a granulated surface.

2. to pelt with or as with pebbles.

pebble

/ ˈpɛbəl /

noun

1. 1. a small smooth rounded stone, esp one worn by the action of water

   2. geology a rock fragment, often rounded, with a diameter of 4–64 mm and thus smaller than a cobble but larger than a granule

2. 1. a transparent colourless variety of rock crystal, used for making certain lenses

   2. such a lens

3. informal,  (modifier) (of a lens or of spectacles) thick, with a high degree of magnification or distortion

4. 1. a grainy irregular surface, esp on leather

   2. leather having such a surface

5. informal,  a troublesome or obstinate person or animal

verb

1. to pave, cover, or pelt with pebbles

2. to impart a grainy surface to (leather)

pebble

1. A rock fragment larger than a granule and smaller than a cobble. Pebbles have a diameter between 4 and 64 mm (0.16 and 2.56 inches) and are often rounded.

Other Word Forms

• unpebbled adjective
• pebbly adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of pebble¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English pibbil, puble, pobble; compare Old English pæbbel (in placenames), papel-, popel- (in compounds); phonological relations unclear

Word History and Origins

Origin of pebble¹

Old English papolstān, from papol- (perhaps of imitative origin) + stān stone

Idioms and Phrases

see not the only fish in the sea (pebble on the beach).

Example Sentences

An investigator’s job is to leave no stone unturned, no matter how distant from subject or crime, and Epstein dedicated his socialite life to amassing a heap of pebbles.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Over time, specks of dust collide and stick together, forming rocky pebbles.

Read more on Space Scoop

As for time machines, perhaps you too have longed to live among the ancient Romans, practicing elocution like Demosthenes with your mouth comically full of pebbles.

Read more on Literature

They floated there, quietly cleaning their feathers, until, below the water, their webbed feet started paddling, and they swam to shore and waddled onto a pebble beach.

Read more on Literature

The design also weaves Loewe’s pebble texture and On’s signature semitranslucent mesh, bound together with drawstring elastic laces for an athletic shoe with luxury flair.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• earth 
• gravel 
• lava 
• metal 
• rubble 
• slab