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

Silva represents the Silva family, who built the still-standing adobe in Rancho Santa Fe in about 1831. —Karen Billing, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 May 2025

The best place to unwind is in front of the adobe fireplace with a movie on the indoor projector—after an alfresco dinner, of course. —Erika Owen, Architectural Digest, 24 Apr. 2025

But behind its high adobe walls, 66 rooms are spread across four traditional houses, and the new Serai wing occupies two merchant houses that date to the 50s. —Catherine Fairweather, Air Mail, 5 Apr. 2025

Palm trunks and fronds serve as roof rafters and thatch for houses built of adobe and mud. —Francine Kiefer, Christian Science Monitor, 1 Apr. 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