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 of rubble

Noun

• debris
• wreckage
• ruins
• remains
• ashes

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

Ivan Fedorov, co-chair of the regional defense council, said 12 bodies pulled from the rubble had been identified so far. — Arkansas Online, 5 Nov. 2026

The latest Russian aerial barrage underscored the scale of the rebuilding task, as did the ongoing search for people missing beneath rubble after a deadly airstrike in southern Ukraine on Monday. — Derek Gatopoulos, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2026

Ivan Fedorov, co-chair of the regional defense council, said Wednesday that 12 bodies pulled from the rubble had been identified so far. — ABC News, 4 Nov. 2026

Teams of emergency workers and volunteers picked through debris at the cratered blast sites, as bodies were pulled from the rubble and carried away in white plastic sheeting. — Derek Gatopoulos, Chicago Tribune, 3 Nov. 2026

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

Rhymes for rubble

• bubble
• double
• stubble
• trouble
• redouble

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