pebble

[ peb-uh l ]

/ ˈpɛb əl /

noun

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

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

any granulated or crinkled surface, especially of a textile.

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

a lens made from this crystal.

verb (used with object), peb·bled, peb·bling.

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

to pelt with or as with pebbles.

Nearby words

peau d'orange, peau de soie, peavey, peavy, peba, pebble, pebble dash, pebble garden, pebble heater, pebbling, pebbly

Origin of pebble

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

Related forms

un·peb·bled, adjective

Can be confused

boulder cobblestone granule pebble rock stone

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for pebbling

And pebbling and mossing and growing sea anemones in basins.
The Celebrity at Home|Violet Hunt
There is no more violent splashing and pebbling, racing, chasing, separating.
The Diary of a Goose Girl|Kate Douglas Smith Wiggin

British Dictionary definitions for pebbling (1 of 2)

pebbling

/ (ˈpɛblɪŋ) /

noun

curling the act of spraying the rink with drops of hot water to slow down the stone

British Dictionary definitions for pebbling (2 of 2)

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

(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

informal, mainly Australian a troublesome or obstinate person or animal

verb (tr)

to pave, cover, or pelt with pebbles

to impart a grainy surface to (leather)

Derived Forms

pebbly, adjective

Word Origin for pebble

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

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

Science definitions for pebbling

pebble

[ pĕb′əl ]

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.

Idioms and Phrases with pebbling

pebble

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