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

Now maintained by the Forest Service, the site includes five adobes partially restored. —Roger Naylor, AZCentral.com, 12 Dec. 2025

Casa de la Torre is among the select adobes in town to receive the first Mills Act contract in Monterey County, allowing the owner significant reductions in property taxes, according to Compass. —David Caraccio, Sacbee.com, 11 Dec. 2025

Come spring, The Inn of the Five Graces will unveil four new suites, each with a fireplace and adobe walls. —Travel + Leisure Editors, Travel + Leisure, 18 Nov. 2025

There are potsherds and petroglyphs all over, plus an old adobe cabin up in the arroyo. —Rowan Jacobsen, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025

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

Rhymes for adobe

• obie
• toby

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