1
a
: broken fragments (as of rock) resulting from the decay or destruction of a building
fortifications knocked into rubble—
C. S. Forester
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
Synonyms
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 WebSteve Lohr, New York Times, 8 June 2024
Children were collecting wood from among the rubble to use as firewood, and U.N. officials were trying to repair a door and windows of the compound for families still sheltering there.
—Anas Baba, NPR, 6 June 2024
Jenna Scatena, Condé Nast Traveler, 12 May 2023
In a 2015 Colorado case following a 19-hour SWAT operation, the wooden frame of a house was exposed and much of the interior was reduced to rubble after police used explosives to blast holes in the walls and breached doors with an armored vehicle, The Denver Post reported.
—Catherine Muccigrosso, Charlotte Observer, 28 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for rubble 
Noun
After the airstrikes, the streets were so clogged with rubble that ambulances and emergency services in central Gaza were unable to respond to many of the calls to transport the wounded to hospitals, the Gazan Health Ministry said.
—Steve Lohr, New York Times, 8 June 2024
Children were collecting wood from among the rubble to use as firewood, and U.N. officials were trying to repair a door and windows of the compound for families still sheltering there.
—Anas Baba, NPR, 6 June 2024
Verb
In addition to the loss of life of more than 50,000 people, the quake also destroyed thousands of buildings, turning homes to rubble and taking with it beloved ancient cultural heritage like the nearly 2,000-year-old Gaziantep Castle and UNESCO World Heritage Site of Diyarbakir Fortress.
—Jenna Scatena, Condé Nast Traveler, 12 May 2023
In a 2015 Colorado case following a 19-hour SWAT operation, the wooden frame of a house was exposed and much of the interior was reduced to rubble after police used explosives to blast holes in the walls and breached doors with an armored vehicle, The Denver Post reported.
—Catherine Muccigrosso, Charlotte Observer, 28 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for rubble
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'rubble.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near rubble
Cite this Entry
“Rubble.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rubble. Accessed 14 Jun. 2024.
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