rubble

rubble (ˈrʌb^əl)

—n
1.	fragments of broken stones, bricks, etc
2.	any fragmented solid material, esp the debris from ruined buildings
3.	quarrying the weathered surface layer of rock
4.	Also called: rubblework masonry constructed of broken pieces of rock, stone, etc

[C14 robyl; perhaps related to Middle English rubben to rub, or to rubbish]

'rubbly

—*adj*

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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

rubble

c.1400, from Anglo-Norm. *robel "bits of broken stone," probably related to rubbish, but also possibly from O.Fr. robe (see rob).

Example sentences

The corpses and rubble that littered the streets during five months of civil

strife have gone.

Note the coral rubble in the foreground, which was created by the net dragging

on the coral reef.

Glaciers moved down from the mountains, dragging along rocks and the rubble

that would be left behind when the ice melted.

In deserted villages a few houses stand among heaps of rubble.

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mushroom ragwork rubbish sneck stone

Matching Quote

"All the old supports going, gone, this man reaches out a hand to steady himself on a ledge of rough brick that is warm in the sun: his hand feeds him messages of solidity, but his mind messages of destruction, for this breathing substance, made of earth, will be a dance of atoms, he knows it, his intelligence tells him so: there will soon be war, he is in the middle of war, where he stands will be a waste, mounds of rubble, and this solid earthy substance will be a film of dust on ruins."

-Doris Lessing

rubble

rub·ble