rubble

noun rub·ble \ ˈrə-bəl \

|Updated on: 16 Jul 2018

Examples: rubble in a Sentence

Definition of rubble

1 a : broken fragments (as of rock) resulting from the decay or destruction of a building

fortifications knocked into rubble
—C. S. Forester

b : a miscellaneous confused mass or group of usually broken or worthless things

2 : waterworn or rough broken stones or bricks used in coarse masonry or in filling courses of walls

3 : rough stone as it comes from the quarry

See rubble defined for English-language learners

See rubble defined for kids

Examples of rubble in a Sentence

Rescue workers managed to pull two injured people out of the rubble.
The earthquake reduced the whole town to rubble.

Recent Examples of rubble from the Web

Ishu and Laura Rao, who got married only eight months ago, returned to the rubble of their home in Goleta in Santa Barbara County, to look for the rings.

— amanda lee myers, BostonGlobe.com, "With wedding rings found in the ashes of their burned home, a husband proposes again," 9 July 2018
Ishu and Laura Rao, who got married only eight months ago, returned to the rubble of their home in Goleta in Santa Barbara County, to look for the rings.

— CBS News, "Man finds rings in ashes of home burned by wildfire, proposes again," 9 July 2018
Ishu and Laura Rao, who got married only eight months ago, returned to the rubble of their home in Goleta in Santa Barbara County, to look for the rings.

— Washington Post, "With ring found in ashes of burned home, man proposes again," 8 July 2018
Eighty years later, even that rubble, that ash has disappeared.

— carol motsinger, Cincinnati.com, "With Holocaust center's move, Union Terminal will, once more, be a refuge for survivors," 6 July 2018
That’s when Orahood started climbing mounds of rubble to the location the cries were coming from.

— jared gilmour, miamiherald, "Exploding home shook houses for miles. Cries under rubble led to a dramatic rescue, video shows," 25 June 2018
The trail starts near level, a mix of packed trail in pines with patches of volcanic rubble, for 1.5 miles en route to the base of the Cinder Cone.

— tom stienstra, San Francisco Chronicle, "Cinder Cone’s mystery unveiled in Land of Smoke," 6 June 2018
Even without an update on what's rising from the Connection rubble, a hotel of that caliber is expected to give a boost to the whole east end of the city.

— maggie menderski, The Courier-Journal, "Iconic Louisville gay night club is being demolished for new hotel," 4 June 2018
Inside, even with a little construction rubble, The Stanley is almost ready.

— kathleen purvis, charlotteobserver, "Breaking news on The Stanley: We've got the menu, planned opening date and a big chef surprise | Charlotte Observer," 4 May 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of rubble

Middle English robyl

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

rubble Synonyms

Synonyms

ashes, debris, detritus, flotsam, remains, residue, ruins, wreck, wreckage;

Related Words

jetsam, leavings, remnant;

chaff, deadwood, dross, dust, garbage, junk, litter, refuse, riffraff, rubbish, scrap, trash, waste;

Other Building Terms

batten, cistern, hearth, lath, transom, wainscot

rubble

verb

Definition of rubble

rubbled; rubbling play \ˈrə-b(ə-)liŋ\

transitive verb

: to reduce to rubble

Recent Examples of rubble from the Web

The wine country fires, along with other blazes in Northern California, killed 44 people and reduced entire residential neighborhoods in Santa Rosa to rubble.

— dale kasler, sacbee, "Northern California utility says it will turn the lights off when fire risk spikes," 22 Mar. 2018
Some people had been wounded in the recent airstrikes by Syria and its Russian allies that have reduced much of the area to rubble.

— nada homsi and nick cumming-bruce, New York Times, "‘We Were Dying in There’: Thousands of Syrians Flee Rebel Enclave," 15 Mar. 2018
Russian military officials and diplomats also have scolded the U.S.-led coalition for reducing the one-time IS capital, Raqqa, to rubble and causing severe suffering for its residents.

— Washington Post, "US general: Russia is both ‘arsonist and fireman’ in Syria," 27 Feb. 2018
Since igniting Sunday in spots across eight counties, the blazes have reduced entire neighborhoods to ash and rubble.

— kim chatelain, NOLA.com, "Girl, 3, drowns in ice cream parlor grease trap: report," 15 Oct. 2017
Since igniting Sunday in spots across eight counties, the blazes have reduced entire neighborhoods to ash and rubble.

— kim chatelain, NOLA.com, "Girl, 3, drowns in ice cream parlor grease trap: report," 15 Oct. 2017
Since igniting Sunday in spots across eight counties, the blazes have reduced entire neighborhoods to ash and rubble.

— kim chatelain, NOLA.com, "Girl, 3, drowns in ice cream parlor grease trap: report," 15 Oct. 2017
Mexico is still reeling from Thursday's earthquake, which killed at least 32 people and reduced hundreds of buildings to rubble.

— amanda erickson, Washington Post, "The city hardest hit by Mexico’s earthquake is a sexually liberated matriarchy," 8 Sep. 2017
Since igniting Sunday in spots across eight counties, the blazes have reduced entire neighborhoods to ash and rubble.

— carol robinson, AL.com, "Hueytown woman found shot to death on Fairfield sidewalk," 13 Oct. 2017

First Known Use of rubble

1944

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

RUBBLE Defined for English Language Learners

rubble

noun

Definition of rubble for English Language Learners

: broken pieces of stone, brick, etc., from walls or buildings that have fallen

RUBBLE Defined for Kids

rubble

noun rub·ble \ ˈrə-bəl \

Definition of rubble for Students

: rough broken pieces of stone or brick from buildings

Learn More about rubble

See words that rhyme with rubble Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for rubble Spanish Central: Translation of rubble Nglish: Translation of rubble for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of rubble for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about rubble

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up rubble? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show

rubble

Definition of rubble

Examples of rubble in a Sentence

Recent Examples of rubble from the Web

Origin and Etymology of rubble

rubble Synonyms

Synonyms

Related Words

Other Building Terms

rubble

Definition of rubble

Recent Examples of rubble from the Web

First Known Use of rubble

RUBBLE Defined for English Language Learners

rubble

Definition of rubble for English Language Learners

RUBBLE Defined for Kids

rubble

Definition of rubble for Students

Learn More about rubble

Seen and Heard

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games

Is 'Consensus of Opinion' Redundant?

Obscure Shapes

Wonderful Words That You're Not Using (Yet)

Trending: Ocasio-Cortez Sparks 'Socialism' Lookups

Ghost Word