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

The buildings in Morocco that were destroyed in Friday night’s quake were mostly unreinforced masonry adobe or brick buildings that are very prone to collapsing when shaken. —Rong-Gong Lin Ii, Los Angeles Times, 12 Sep. 2023

The mummy was buried underneath an adobe and clay pyramid called the Huaca Pucllana. —Christopher Parker, Smithsonian Magazine, 11 Sep. 2023

The adobe and the bricks, everything, feels warm and baked. —Lale Arikoglu, Condé Nast Traveler, 1 Sep. 2023

Originally consisting of an adobe building with grass hut chapels, the modern stone structure was finished in 1873 and further improved in 1918. —Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA TODAY, 11 Aug. 2023

With five bedrooms, a Jacuzzi and a grand entryway capped by a cupola, the hacienda stood out from the crumbling adobe buildings nearby. —Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times, 18 July 2023

The brainchild and former home of San Diego artist James Hubbell, Ilan-Lael features stained glass windows abutting adobe brick, mosaics pressed into walls and ceilings and a dearth of right angles. —Cameron Fozi, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 July 2023

The living room is gorgeous, and features a towering window that permits sunlight to stream in, heating up the poured adobe floor that is made with a mix of local clay, sand, straw. —Kimberley Mok, Treehugger, 13 July 2023

These artists gathered in an adobe home in Santa Fe, N.M., in the summer of 1938 to formalize their commitment to a collective effort of art-making with metaphysical motivations. —Kealey Boyd, Los Angeles Times, 16 Feb. 2023

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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

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