rubble

1 of 2

noun

rub·​ble ˈrə-bəl How to pronounce rubble (audio)
1
a
: broken fragments (as of rock) resulting from the decay or destruction of a building
fortifications knocked into rubbleC. S. Forester
b
: a miscellaneous confused mass or group of usually broken or worthless things
2
: waterworn or rough broken stones or bricks used in coarse masonry or in filling courses of walls
3
: rough stone as it comes from the quarry

rubble

2 of 2

verb

rubbled; rubbling ˈrə-b(ə-)liŋ How to pronounce rubble (audio)

transitive verb

: to reduce to rubble

Examples of rubble in a Sentence

Noun Rescue workers managed to pull two injured people out of the rubble. The earthquake reduced the whole town to rubble.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
Here's why At one point he’s basically indentured to almost comically evil thieves, who force him to crawl through small spaces in the rubble to steal for them. Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 5 Nov. 2024 The Colosseum stands strong as the rest of ancient Rome lies in rubble. Joshua Rapp Learn, Discover Magazine, 4 Nov. 2024
Verb
Israel’s campaign in Gaza – launched following the Hamas attacks of October 7 – has killed more than 40,000 people and reduced much of the territory to rubble. Mohammad Al Sawalhi, CNN, 18 Aug. 2024 On Our Radar -Once on track for Forbes’ Billionaires list, record-making producer Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is facing a long and growing list of allegations that have reduced his empire to rubble. Zoya Hasan, Forbes, 27 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for rubble 

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English robyl

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1944, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of rubble was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near rubble

Cite this Entry

“Rubble.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rubble. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

rubble

noun
rub·​ble
ˈrəb-əl
1
: rough broken stones or bricks used in building
2
: a confused mass of rough or broken things

More from Merriam-Webster on rubble

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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