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

Aoun’s confirmation of their deaths comes after the agency earlier reported that the three were trapped beneath rubble. —Christopher Cann, USA Today, 30 Apr. 2026

But within seconds of being knocked back, the responding officers were back up, checking on each other and evacuating stunned residents — including several children — from the rubble of the home, the video shows. —Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 30 Apr. 2026

Ironically, the cloaked and armored marble statue of the goddess was found face down in the rubble near the outer wall of the stage. —Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 26 Apr. 2026

What remained of the shop was a pile of rubble. —Phil Helsel, NBC news, 24 Apr. 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