rubble
Americannoun
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broken bits and pieces of anything, as that which is demolished.
Bombing reduced the town to rubble.
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any solid substance, as ice, in irregularly broken pieces.
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rough fragments of broken stone, formed by geological processes, in quarrying, etc., and sometimes used in masonry.
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masonry built of rough fragments of broken stone.
noun
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fragments of broken stones, bricks, etc
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any fragmented solid material, esp the debris from ruined buildings
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quarrying the weathered surface layer of rock
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Also called: rubblework. masonry constructed of broken pieces of rock, stone, etc
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of rubble
1350–1400; Middle English rubel, robil < ?; cf. rubbish
Explanation
The pile of crumbled debris that's left over after something breaks or collapses is rubble. Famous scenes of rubble include the fallen Twin Towers on September 11 and the remains of the Haitian capital after the 2010 earthquake. Rubble rhymes with "bubble," but when a bubble bursts, it just dissolves into liquid, while rubble is piles of rock, concrete, brick, and other remains that are a very physical reminder of destruction. Rock slides create rubble from rocks, and natural disasters and explosions create rubble from buildings, cars, and trees. Unfortunately, rubble is usually heavy and can trap people or things beneath it, as when bodies are found in the rubble of a fire or earthquake.
Vocabulary lists containing rubble
"There Will Come Soft Rains" by Ray Bradbury (1950)
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Milkweed
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"The End and the Beginning," Vocabulary from the poem
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In the main square, Lebanese soldiers used heavy machinery to remove rubble as drones buzzed overhead.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
“Remake” is McElwee’s first film in 15 years, appearing like a jewel out of a mountain of life’s rubble.
From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2026
When the smoke briefly cleared, she says she passed the injured children down to people below and clambered past fire and rubble towards the school gate, where she saw a crowd of parents.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
In one seaside community, graffiti outside a collapsed building asked authorities not to demolish it until the families could recover nine bodies buried under the rubble.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
For all he knew, most of Beaverville was a pile of rubble.
From "Earthquake Terror" by Peg Kehret
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
