rubble

American  

[ruhb-uhl, roo-buhl] / ˈrʌb əl, ˈru bəl /

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.

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rubble British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

• rubbly adjective

Etymology

Origin of rubble

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

Example Sentences

AFP visited the remote border zone and saw three buildings reduced to rubble, their scorched zinc roofing twisted among the debris.

From Barron's

Ahead of me an elderly man, pink-cheeked from working in the roofless station, was raking bomb rubble into a pile.

From Literature

Inside, a walking frame lay upended on the floor under the ash-covered furniture and rubble.

From BBC

AFP footage from the scene showed police officers, rescuers and military personnel on a street strewn with rubble.

From Barron's

"We are not given the proper information," he told AFP, as rescuers picked through the rubble nearby.

From Barron's

Related Words

• debris