pebble

[ peb-uhl ]
See synonyms for pebble on Thesaurus.com
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.

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

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

  3. a lens made from this crystal.

verb (used with object),peb·bled, peb·bling.
  1. to prepare (leather) so as to have a granulated surface.

  2. to pelt with or as with pebbles.

Origin of pebble

1
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English pibbil, puble, pobble; compare Old English pæbbel (in placenames), papel-, popel- (in compounds); phonological relations unclear

Other words from pebble

  • un·peb·bled, adjective

Words that may be confused with pebble

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use pebble in a sentence

  • We have men enough, and good men too, but we are short of pebbles for Goliath of Achi Baba.

  • For another minute or two he sat there without speaking, absently flipping pebbles over the bank.

    Raw Gold | Bertrand W. Sinclair
  • In a trice he speeded up the Comet and leaped forward toward the caon, sand and loosened pebbles dropping all around him.

    Motor Matt's "Century" Run | Stanley R. Matthews
  • The streets are paved partly with blueish pebbles from the beach, partly with red or grey granite.

  • At one hundred feet in depth, the passage of the surge would be strong enough to urge considerable pebbles before it.

    Outlines of the Earth's History | Nathaniel Southgate Shaler

British Dictionary definitions for pebble

pebble

/ (ˈpɛbəl) /


noun
    • a small smooth rounded stone, esp one worn by the action of water

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

    • a transparent colourless variety of rock crystal, used for making certain lenses

    • such a lens

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

    • a grainy irregular surface, esp on leather

    • leather having such a surface

  2. informal, mainly Australian a troublesome or obstinate person or animal

verb(tr)
  1. to pave, cover, or pelt with pebbles

  2. to impart a grainy surface to (leather)

Origin of pebble

1
Old English papolstān, from papol- (perhaps of imitative origin) + stān stone

Derived forms of pebble

  • pebbly, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for pebble

pebble

[ pĕbəl ]


  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.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Other Idioms and Phrases with pebble

pebble

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

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.