adobe

noun ado·be \ ə-ˈdō-bē \

Definition of adobe

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

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adobelike

play \-ˌlīk\ adjective

See adobe defined for English-language learners

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Examples of adobe in a Sentence

The house was built of adobe.

Recent Examples of adobe from the Web

Thousands of years ago, indigenous groups living on the Pacific coast of Peru built towering adobe pyramids, which functioned as religious centers and tombs for elite members of society.

— brigit katz, Smithsonian, "Remains of 19th-Century Chinese Laborers Found at Pyramid in Peru," 29 Aug. 2017
Misseld spoke English with a strong German accent that amused and charmed his friends, and after the Idaho Statesman bought the adobe building at Sixth and Main next door to his City Brewery, he was often quoted in its pages.

— arthur hart, idahostatesman, "He came for the gold. He stayed to make beer.," 29 July 2017
Via Google Maps The single-story adobe was built in 1795 by Francisco Salvador Lugo, once one of Alta California’s largest landholders.

— jennifer rice epstein, Los Angeles Magazine, "Gage Mansion Is Moldering Away Right in Front of Its Owners’ Eyes," 10 July 2017
The structure was made of wood and adobe, in the Spanish style, but the wallpaper added after independence is English.

— carolina a. miranda, latimes.com, "Argentine slums and a Unabomber cabin: How 'Home' at LACMA rethinks ideas about Latin American art," 15 June 2017
In 1972, Carol Merrill, a graduate student at the University of New Mexico in her early twenties, sent a letter to Georgia O’Keeffe at the artist’s adobe house in Abiquiú.

— rachel syme, New Republic, "Viewing Georgia O’Keeffe’s art and legend through her personal style.," 15 June 2017
For a town designed to blend in – a city ordinance requires that buildings look like earthen adobe structures –

— brian j. cantwell, The Seattle Times, "Seattle makes Outside magazine’s 25 ‘best-towns ever’ list (and here’s the rest)," 13 June 2017
Wander the plaza, search adobe shops and restaurants.

— angela hill, The Mercury News, "On the road trip again: An almost-summer expedition to the Midwest," 8 June 2017
A group of volunteers from the nonprofit Friends of the Rancho Buena Vista Adobe, led by second generation adobe volunteer Mary Gafner, are set on reviving the tradition July 9.

— linda mcintosh, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Ice cream social planned at old adobe," 31 May 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'adobe.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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.