rubble

1 of 2

noun

rub·​ble ˈrə-bəl 

1

a

: broken fragments (as of rock) resulting from the decay or destruction of a building

fortifications knocked into rubble

—C. 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 

transitive verb

: to reduce to rubble

Synonyms

Noun

• ashes
• debris
• detritus
• flotsam
• remains
• residue
• ruins
• wreck
• wreckage

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

Noun

That was the case on Oct. 7 when Hamas launched an unprecedented attack that killed 1,200 people, and in the seven months since that has seen Israel wage one of the most destructive wars this century, which has killed at least 35,000 Palestinians and left much of the Strip in rubble. —Richard English, TIME, 17 May 2024

Barron is one of numerous faith leaders sifting through the rubble left by the rise and rapid decline of a particularly anti-religious movement in the previous decades. —Timothy H.j. Nerozzi Fox News, Fox News, 12 May 2024

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

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