cobble

1 of 2

verb

cob·​ble ˈkä-bəl 

cobbled; cobbling ˈkä-b(ə-)liŋ 

transitive verb

1

chiefly British : to mend or patch coarsely

2

: repair, make

cobble shoes

3

: to make or put together roughly or hastily

—often used with together or up

cobble together an agreement

cobble up a temporary solution

cobble

2 of 2

noun

1

: cobblestone

2

cobbles plural, chiefly British : lump coal about the size of small cobblestones

Synonyms

Verb

• jury-rig
• patch (together)
• throw up

Examples of cobble in a Sentence

Verb

expensive leather shoes cobbled in Italy

Noun

a street paved with cobbles

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Centrists can sometimes cobble together coalitions to keep out the far right — even if those parties are smaller individually. —Alexander Smith, NBC News, 13 Oct. 2024

Coming off a 2022 season marred by a groin injury that limited him to five games, Bosa cobbled together 6½ sacks with 14 solo tackles last season. —Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times, 2 Sep. 2024

Noun

Maybe Vance can slip over into southwestern Pennsylvania and cobble together some more votes from the Laurel Highlands. —Philip Bump, Washington Post, 16 July 2024

Action, not words, is needed now to end the suffering, silence the beating of war drums, and cobble back together the fragile coalition Biden needs to remain in power. —Joseph Geevarghese, Baltimore Sun, 2 May 2024

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English coblen, perhaps back-formation from cobelere cobbler

First Known Use

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1600, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

cobble

1 of 2 verb

cob·​ble ˈkäb-əl 

cobbled; cobbling -(ə-)liŋ 

: to make roughly or hastily

—often used with together or up

cobble

2 of 2 noun

: a rounded stone larger than a pebble and smaller than a boulder