Skip to main content
rubble

rubble

133 3.2
Broken pieces of stone or brick left after a building is destroyed
  • noun
  • /ˈrʌbəl/
: escombros
  • You're standing on the rubble of the world that was.
  • a pile of rubble
  • filled with rubble
  • buried in the rubble

The only area which they haven't yet reduced to rubble is Rafa.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • Those remains you found in the rubble.

  • While the rocket assembly plant remains a pile of rubble, the rails leading to the launch platform are visible.

    Academic text (2002)
  • Somewhere in the rubble will be something interesting.

  • But in the rubble that day was a book.

  • And then I found your picture the next morning in the rubble outside.

  • Which raises the question, where did that rubble come from?

  • During a real earthquake, houses fall down; we remove the rubble and carry on working.

    Academic text (1993)
  • Dust settles, and the police walk over the rubble to the other side.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • A quick inspection revealed the rubble of stone foundations buried beneath the undergrowth.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Rescue workers pulled 20 people from the rubble but said 20 more were still missing.

Synonyms

debris
vsrubble
263 4.1

Scattered broken pieces left after something is destroyed

is specific to broken building materials like stone and brick
wreckage
vsrubble
116 3.6

Broken parts that remain after something is badly damaged

is about small broken building material fragments rather than larger parts
detritus
vsrubble
9 8.2

Loose bits of waste and broken things left after damage or natural events

is limited to human-made building material remains after damage
crushed rock
vsrubble
  • Specialized
1 3.0

Small pieces of rock made by crushing larger stones and used for paths and building

comes from destroyed buildings rather than being produced for construction
flinders
vsrubble
  • UK
1 9.9

Small thin pieces that break off when something is smashed

refers to chunkier broken pieces from damaged built structures

How Much

rubble
133 3.2
debris
263 4.1

Surface Forms

rubble singular
rubbles plural

Etymology

The word rubble comes from an old French word meaning 'broken stones' or loose rock from ruined buildings. So rubble is a pile of rough stones and brick left after a building falls.