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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 Some are archaeological sites, like Peru’s Chan Chan, the largest adobe city on Earth, and the ancestral Pueblo cliff dwellings in Colorado’s Mesa Verde National Park. — Popular Science, "Saving historical landmarks from climate change could mean altering them," 17 Nov. 2020 Some are archaeological sites, like Peru’s Chan Chan, the largest adobe city on Earth, and the ancestral Pueblo cliff dwellings in Colorado’s Mesa Verde National Park. — Popular Science, "Saving historical landmarks from climate change could mean altering them," 17 Nov. 2020 Some are archaeological sites, like Peru’s Chan Chan, the largest adobe city on Earth, and the ancestral Pueblo cliff dwellings in Colorado’s Mesa Verde National Park. — Popular Science, "Saving historical landmarks from climate change could mean altering them," 17 Nov. 2020 Some are archaeological sites, like Peru’s Chan Chan, the largest adobe city on Earth, and the ancestral Pueblo cliff dwellings in Colorado’s Mesa Verde National Park. — Popular Science, "Saving historical landmarks from climate change could mean altering them," 17 Nov. 2020 Some are archaeological sites, like Peru’s Chan Chan, the largest adobe city on Earth, and the ancestral Pueblo cliff dwellings in Colorado’s Mesa Verde National Park. — Popular Science, "Saving historical landmarks from climate change could mean altering them," 17 Nov. 2020 Some are archaeological sites, like Peru’s Chan Chan, the largest adobe city on Earth, and the ancestral Pueblo cliff dwellings in Colorado’s Mesa Verde National Park. — Erin Seekamp, The Conversation, "Preserving cultural and historic treasures in a changing climate may mean transforming them," 13 Nov. 2020 This southern Orange County city, with its adobe buildings, red-tile roofs and historic mission, has a lot going for it. — Rosemary Mcclure, Los Angeles Times, "Socially distance your out-of-town holiday guests at these six new L.A.-area hotels," 7 Nov. 2020 An adobe-style fireplace provides some Southwest charm in the scenic living room, and a stone fireplace anchors a great room set under dramatic beams. — Jack Flemming, Los Angeles Times, "‘Yellowstone’ star Cole Hauser tries to corral a buyer for Agoura Hills horse ranch," 6 Nov. 2020

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