rubble

[ruhb-uhl, roo-buhl]

noun

1. broken bits and pieces of anything, as that which is demolished.

   Bombing reduced the town to rubble.

2. any solid substance, as ice, in irregularly broken pieces.

3. rough fragments of broken stone, formed by geological processes, in quarrying, etc., and sometimes used in masonry.

4. masonry built of rough fragments of broken stone.

rubble

/ ˈrʌbəl /

noun

1. fragments of broken stones, bricks, etc

2. any fragmented solid material, esp the debris from ruined buildings

3. quarrying the weathered surface layer of rock

4. Also called: rubblework. masonry constructed of broken pieces of rock, stone, etc

Other Word Forms

• rubbly adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of rubble¹

1350–1400; Middle English rubel, robil < ?; rubbish

Word History and Origins

Origin of rubble¹

C14 robyl ; perhaps related to Middle English rubben to rub, or to _rubbish

Example Sentences

Other eyewitnesses said that chaos ensued, as people scattered in panic or tried to save the lives of people trapped beneath the rubble.

From BBC

Authorities had on Wednesday said crying and shouting could still be heard from under the rubble.

From BBC

Firefighters and emergency responders searched into the afternoon for anyone who may have been trapped under the mounds of rubble outside the building, which is part of a public housing development in the Bronx.

From BBC

"I have colleagues still under the rubble", he said.

From BBC

But the same was said when the earlier fires reduced other areas to rubble.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• debris