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
Arkansas Online, 30 Jan. 2026
The demonstration builds on earlier showcases of the Oli platform, which previously highlighted individual robots performing tasks such as navigating uneven terrain, climbing rubble, and balancing on one leg.
—Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 27 Jan. 2026
Emergency crews retrieved the bodies of two men, aged 90 and 52, and a woman from the rubble, authorities said.
—Kamila Hrabchuk, Los Angeles Times, 27 Jan. 2026
The United Nations Office for Project Services says Gaza has more than 60 million tons of rubble, enough to fill nearly 3,000 container ships.
—Matt Bradley, NBC news, 24 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for rubble
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Noun
The children's father was injured and transferred to a local hospital in Jalalabad, while the bodies of his wife and the children -- three boys and three girls between the ages of 4 and 15 -- were pulled from the rubble.
—Arkansas Online, 30 Jan. 2026
The demonstration builds on earlier showcases of the Oli platform, which previously highlighted individual robots performing tasks such as navigating uneven terrain, climbing rubble, and balancing on one leg.
—Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 27 Jan. 2026
Emergency crews retrieved the bodies of two men, aged 90 and 52, and a woman from the rubble, authorities said.
—Kamila Hrabchuk, Los Angeles Times, 27 Jan. 2026
The United Nations Office for Project Services says Gaza has more than 60 million tons of rubble, enough to fill nearly 3,000 container ships.
—Matt Bradley, NBC news, 24 Jan. 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 31 Jan. 2026.
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