1
a
: broken fragments (as of rock) resulting from the decay or destruction of a building
… fortifications knocked into rubble.—
C. S. Forester
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
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
Jamie McIntosh, The Spruce, 3 Mar. 2026
Many of the bodies had been buried under rubble.
—Npr Staff, NPR, 3 Mar. 2026
Civilians and rescue forces in the rubble after a strike on a school in Minab, Iran, on Saturday.
—Shira Pinson, NBC news, 3 Mar. 2026
This does not include the thousands likely missing or buried under the rubble.
—Alexander Durie, Time, 3 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for rubble
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Noun
In neighborhoods with new construction, the topsoil is stripped away, and the rubble left behind hardly qualifies as soil.
—Jamie McIntosh, The Spruce, 3 Mar. 2026
Many of the bodies had been buried under rubble.
—Npr Staff, NPR, 3 Mar. 2026
Civilians and rescue forces in the rubble after a strike on a school in Minab, Iran, on Saturday.
—Shira Pinson, NBC news, 3 Mar. 2026
This does not include the thousands likely missing or buried under the rubble.
—Alexander Durie, Time, 3 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for rubble
Cite this Entry
“Rubble.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rubble. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.
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