pebble

[ peb-uhl ]
See synonyms for pebble on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a small, rounded stone, especially one worn smooth by the action of water.

  2. Also called pebble leather . leather that has been given a granulated surface.

  1. any granulated or crinkled surface, especially of a textile.

  2. a transparent colorless rock crystal used for the lenses of eyeglasses.

  3. a lens made from this crystal.

verb (used with object),peb·bled, peb·bling.
  1. to prepare (leather) so as to have a granulated surface.

  2. to pelt with or as with pebbles.

Origin of pebble

1
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English pibbil, puble, pobble; compare Old English pæbbel (in placenames), papel-, popel- (in compounds); phonological relations unclear

Other words from pebble

  • un·peb·bled, adjective

Words that may be confused with pebble

Words Nearby pebble

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

How to use pebble in a sentence

  • He turned away, tossing another pebble into the pool with a half-hearted motion of his arm.

    The Envoy, Her | Horace Brown Fyfe
  • He chose a flat pebble and sent it skipping across the surface with a vicious snap of his wrist.

    The Envoy, Her | Horace Brown Fyfe
  • Oar and keel, pebble and arrow, wind and current, are alike powerless to make a furrow that shall last.

    A Charming Fellow, Volume II (of 3) | Frances Eleanor Trollope
  • His method was to take a pebble from a running stream, and grind it to powder with certain prayers.

    The Cradle of Mankind | W.A. Wigram
  • And at that the elder brother cried out aloud, and turned the light of the pebble on the maid, and, lo!

British Dictionary definitions for pebble

pebble

/ (ˈpɛbəl) /


noun
    • a small smooth rounded stone, esp one worn by the action of water

    • geology a rock fragment, often rounded, with a diameter of 4–64 mm and thus smaller than a cobble but larger than a granule

    • a transparent colourless variety of rock crystal, used for making certain lenses

    • such a lens

  1. (modifier) informal (of a lens or of spectacles) thick, with a high degree of magnification or distortion

    • a grainy irregular surface, esp on leather

    • leather having such a surface

  2. informal, mainly Australian a troublesome or obstinate person or animal

verb(tr)
  1. to pave, cover, or pelt with pebbles

  2. to impart a grainy surface to (leather)

Origin of pebble

1
Old English papolstān, from papol- (perhaps of imitative origin) + stān stone

Derived forms of pebble

  • pebbly, 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

Scientific definitions for pebble

pebble

[ pĕbəl ]


  1. A rock fragment larger than a granule and smaller than a cobble. Pebbles have a diameter between 4 and 64 mm (0.16 and 2.56 inches) and are often rounded.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Other Idioms and Phrases with pebble

pebble

see not the only fish in the sea (pebble on the beach).

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.