soap bubble
Americannoun
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a bubble of soapsuds.
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something that lacks substance or permanence.
noun
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a bubble formed from soapy water
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something that is ephemeral but attractive
Etymology
Origin of soap bubble
First recorded in 1805–15
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.
Our cells are surrounded by a fragile membrane that's only 5 nanometers thick, 1/20 of a soap bubble.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 22, 2024
Over billions of years, gravity pulled additional material into those baryon-dense regions, and galaxies and galactic clusters preferentially formed along their boundaries in thin shells like dust settling on a soap bubble.
From Scientific American ● Sep. 27, 2023
Snapshots have included the Southern Ring nebula, which resembles a soap bubble expanding from a dead star, and the striking Carina nebula, composed of swirling dust akin to jagged cliffs.
From New York Times ● Aug. 4, 2022
Then, they add detergent to create a spike-covered soap bubble that looks similar to the virus itself.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 5, 2022
Madame Sabbar quick shot another grape and it disappeared down Jimmy’s throat, making a sound like a soap bubble getting busted!
From "Elijah of Buxton" by Christopher Paul Curtis
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.
