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

Many who have returned home since the ceasefire began have found only mounds of rubble. —Magdy reported from Cairo and Krauss from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. —Wafaa Shurafa, Samy Magdy, TIME, 27 Jan. 2025

Many who have returned home since the cease-fire began have found only mounds of rubble. —Wafaa Shurafa, Los Angeles Times, 26 Jan. 2025

Verb

Israeli military strikes have razed most of Gaza to rubble, with Gaza City the most heavily destroyed. —Rachel Wilson, CNN, 22 Jan. 2025

Just a mile from Gaza, Kfar Aza's houses were burned by explosives, riddled with bullet holes and reduced to rubble by tank shells. —Kim Hjelmgaard, USA TODAY, 18 Jan. 2025

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