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
The collection of works for this show, featuring a number of new pieces, mixes glass, earth, stone, lace and bronze elements, along with some bronze cast and borosilicate glass forms that Akashi recovered from the rubble of her studio. The Editors, Los Angeles Times, 18 Feb. 2025 Gulf Arab states would also be expected to finance much of Gaza's redevelopment as rubble is cleared. Aya Batrawy, NPR, 17 Feb. 2025
Verb
The damage is most visible in Gaza, where, as of late January, the official death toll is over 47,000—likely an underestimate—and where Israeli bombardment reduced around 70 percent of its buildings to rubble in a little over a year. Maha Yahya, Foreign Affairs, 17 Feb. 2025 The Context Trump on February 4 called for Gaza's roughly 2 million residents to be removed following a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas after more than 15 months of war that have left more than 47,000 Palestinians dead and reduced much of the territory to rubble. Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 14 Feb. 2025 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

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Cite this Entry

“Rubble.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rubble. Accessed 1 Mar. 2025.

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

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