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 of rubble

Noun

• debris
• wreckage
• ruins
• remains
• ashes

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

After a devastating fire reduced a Scottish church to rubble, an unexpected discovery was made beneath the ruins — uniting a grieving congregation. —Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 15 Jan. 2026

In the first image rubble from the fire is visible and the land is a charred brown. —Terry Castleman, Los Angeles Times, 13 Jan. 2026

First responders carried many of the injured, who were trapped under rubble, out on stretchers, and detection dogs were used to ensure that rescuers located everyone trapped in the debris, per the BBC. —Bailey Richards, PEOPLE, 11 Jan. 2026

But the killing of George Floyd didn’t end in the smoldering rubble of the Third Precinct. —Jennifer Brooks, Mercury News, 9 Jan. 2026

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