rubble
broken bits and pieces of anything, as that which is demolished: Bombing reduced the town to rubble.
any solid substance, as ice, in irregularly broken pieces.
rough fragments of broken stone, formed by geological processes, in quarrying, etc., and sometimes used in masonry.
masonry built of rough fragments of broken stone.
Origin of rubble
1Words Nearby rubble
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use rubble in a sentence
He envisions snake bots slithering through earthquake rubble to search for survivors.
Newfound technique allows some tree snakes to climb wide trees | Maria Temming | February 1, 2021 | Science News For StudentsHe envisions snake bots slithering through earthquake rubble to search for survivors or wriggling inside large machinery to perform inspections.
Brown tree snakes use their tails as lassos to climb wide trees | Maria Temming | January 11, 2021 | Science NewsChina just scooped up some rubble from the moon and should be bringing those materials back to Earth in just a few days.
This is what NASA wants to do when it gets to the moon | Neel Patel | December 9, 2020 | MIT Technology ReviewThat’s precisely the goal come October 20, when OSIRIS-REx will plunge down toward the surface of the asteroid and attempt to scoop up some rubble and dust from the surface.
A NASA spacecraft is about to scoop up some asteroid rubble | Neel Patel | October 14, 2020 | MIT Technology ReviewThat might seem like a hassle, but it would be a small price to pay to get some rubble from a rock 200 million miles away.
A NASA spacecraft is about to scoop up some asteroid rubble | Neel Patel | October 14, 2020 | MIT Technology Review
Pages from the Quran fluttered in the air before landing gently on the rubble.
The Dangerous Drug-Funded Secret War Between Iran and Pakistan | Umar Farooq | December 29, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAnd there are a few nice things buried beneath the rubble that I could use in my apartment.
If we enter with hammer in hand, we may leave with merely dust and rubble on our faces.
Within 10 seconds, his target vanishes in a muted cloud of smoke and rubble 7,000 miles away.
Ethan Hawke's 'Good Kill': A Searing Indictment of America's Drone Warfare Obsession | Marlow Stern | September 6, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThey broke off into groups of a dozen and got to work collecting bricks and salvageable materials from the rubble.
After the Genocide, Rwanda’s Widows Aging Alone | Nina Strochlic | August 31, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIt is a common practice in erecting buildings with a facing of Kentish rag rubble to back up the stonework with bricks.
The rais house was a typical sample of the ordinary mountain cabin; walled with rough stone rubble, and floored with beaten earth.
The Cradle of Mankind | W.A. WigramA bright glow shone on the rubble within, and smoke and sparks came merrily from the chimney.
Mushroom Town | Oliver OnionsSuddenly the wheels jolted on a rubble of loose stones; the carriage was swung sideways.
Villa Rubein and Other Stories | John GalsworthyAs noted above, these streams are normally clear, swift and have steep gradients and many rubble and gravel riffles.
Fishes of Chautauqua, Cowley and Elk Counties, Kansas | Artie L. Metcalf
British Dictionary definitions for rubble
/ (ˈrʌbəl) /
fragments of broken stones, bricks, etc
any fragmented solid material, esp the debris from ruined buildings
quarrying the weathered surface layer of rock
Also called: rubblework masonry constructed of broken pieces of rock, stone, etc
Origin of rubble
1Derived forms of rubble
- rubbly, 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
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