rubble

1 of 2

noun

rub·​ble ˈrə-bəl 

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

rubble

2 of 2

verb

rubbled; rubbling ˈrə-b(ə-)liŋ 

transitive verb

: to reduce to rubble

Synonyms

Noun

• ashes
• debris
• detritus
• flotsam
• remains
• residue
• ruins
• wreck
• wreckage

Examples of rubble in a Sentence

Noun

Rescue workers managed to pull two injured people out of the rubble.

The earthquake reduced the whole town to rubble.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Amy Downs, a 28-year-old bank teller at the time of the attack, spent six hours in the rubble of the federal building before being rescued, and the moment marked a transformation in her life. —Alex Gurley, People.com, 19 Apr. 2025

Firefighters continued to search the rubble and spray hot spots into Thursday morning. —Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News, 10 Apr. 2025

As of Wednesday morning, rescue teams have pulled approximately 145 people alive from the rubble while local press reported that more than 200 people were injured. —Antonio Maria Delgado, Miami Herald, 9 Apr. 2025

Dotel, a former New York Mets player, was pulled from the rubble but died on the way to the hospital, officials said. —Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 9 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English robyl

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1944, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for rubble

• bubble
• double
• stubble
• trouble
• redouble

Kids Definition

rubble

noun

rub·​ble

ˈrəb-əl

1

: rough broken stones or bricks used in building

2

: a confused mass of rough or broken things