boulder

or bowl·der

[ bohl-der ]
See synonyms for boulder on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a detached and rounded or worn rock, especially a large one.

Origin of boulder

1
1610–20; short for boulder stone;Middle English bulderston<Scandinavian; compare dialectal Swedish bullersten big stone (in a stream), equivalent to buller rumbling noise (<Old Swedish bulder) + stenstone

Other words from boulder

  • bouldered, adjective
  • boul·der·y, adjective

Words that may be confused with boulder

Words Nearby boulder

Other definitions for Boulder (2 of 2)

Boulder
[ bohl-der ]

noun
  1. a city in N Colorado.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use boulder in a sentence

  • On the opposite side of the stream, set back about thirty paces from the brink, stood a granite boulder.

    Uncanny Tales | Various
  • At the far end we made a little fire and lay round it in the shadow of a big boulder.

    Three More John Silence Stories | Algernon Blackwood
  • boulder beaches are so quick in answering to every slight change in the conditions which affect them that they seem almost alive.

    Outlines of the Earth's History | Nathaniel Southgate Shaler
  • The cutting is not altogether in the fixed material, for the boulder itself is also worn and scored in the work.

    Outlines of the Earth's History | Nathaniel Southgate Shaler
  • Here and there we will find a boulder perched on a pedestal of ice, which indicates a recent down-wearing of the field.

    Outlines of the Earth's History | Nathaniel Southgate Shaler

British Dictionary definitions for boulder

boulder

/ (ˈbəʊldə) /


noun
  1. a smooth rounded mass of rock that has a diameter greater than 25cm and that has been shaped by erosion and transported by ice or water from its original position

  2. geology a rock fragment with a diameter greater than 256 mm and thus bigger than a cobble

Origin of boulder

1
C13: probably of Scandinavian origin; compare Swedish dialect bullersten, from Old Swedish bulder rumbling + sten stone

Derived forms of boulder

  • bouldery, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012