adobe

noun

ado·​be ə-ˈdō-bē 

1

: a brick or building material of sun-dried earth and straw

2

: a structure made of adobe bricks

3

: a heavy clay used in making adobe bricks

broadly : alluvial or playa clay in desert or arid regions

adobelike

ə-ˈdō-bē-ˌlīk 

adjective

Illustration of adobe

• adobe 2

Did you know?

Handmade sun-dried bricks, adobes are formed from a mixture of heavy clay and straw found in dry regions. As a building material, adobes date back thousands of years and are found in many parts of the world. Molds for shaping the bricks were brought to the New World by the Spanish. Excellent insulating properties make adobes ideal material for both dwellings and ovens; home interiors retain heat in winter and stay cool in summer. The adobe buildings at Taos, New Mexico, are typical of Native American pueblo dwellings.

Examples of adobe in a Sentence

The house was built of adobe.

Recent Examples on the Web

Even the city’s traditional adobe homes, it could be argued, are essentially inhabitable pottery. —Lia Picard, Travel + Leisure, 16 Oct. 2024

Rael’s work combines 3D-printing technology with indigenous and traditional building materials to create experimental adobe structures in New Mexico and Colorado. —Christian Allaire, Vogue, 23 Oct. 2024

From $166 per night. BOOK NOW Courtesy of Airbnb Adobe at the Edge of the Wilderness in Dixon, New Mexico This spectacular adobe is located in Dixon, a fairly remote artist’s village. —Kristi Kellogg, Architectural Digest, 21 Oct. 2024

The area and theater were both revived in the '60s, and the Starlight has been in its current restaurant form since a 1990 renovation that preserved the adobe walls. —Megan Stringer, Axios, 18 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Spanish, borrowed from Arabic aṭ-ṭūb, from al "the" + ṭūb "brick (material), bricks," borrowed from Coptic (Sahidic dialect) tôôbe, (Bohairic dialect) tôbi "brick," going back to Old Egyptian db.t

First Known Use

1748, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

adobe

noun

ado·​be ə-ˈdō-bē 

1

: a brick or building material made of a sun-dried mixture of earth and straw

2

: a building made of adobe bricks

Etymology

Spanish