bubble

SayBUB-uhl/ˈbʌb.l̩/AUS/ˈbʌbl̩/

Pluralbubbles

Verbbubbles, bubbling, bubbled

28 meanings of bubble

Practice

1
nouncountable
A small pocket of air or gas inside a liquid, a solid, or a thin film.
Like a tiny balloon made of soap and air.
The child blew a big bubble from the soapy wand.
Bubbles floated across the yard in the sunlight.
UsageYou blow bubbles, and they pop.
2
boil (liquids)verbintransitive
To make bubbles or rise up in bubbles, the way water does when it boils.
Like soda fizzing up in a glass.
The soup began to bubble on the stove.
Water bubbles when it gets hot enough.
UsageYou can also say bubble away or bubble up: the soup bubbled away on the stove.
Similarboil, simmer, fizz, froth, gurgle
Note
3
price boomnouncountable
A time when prices rise far above what things are really worth, often ending in a sudden crash.
Like blowing up a balloon until it pops: bigger and bigger, then suddenly gone.
Many people lost money when the housing bubble burst.
Experts warned that the tech bubble would not last.
UsageA housing bubble can burst.
Similarboom
Note
4
private worldnounfigurativelycountable
A private world of feelings or surroundings that keeps someone apart from the outside.
Like being inside a clear ball that keeps the rest of the world outside.
After the breakup she lived in a sad bubble for weeks.
Fame put the young star inside a strange bubble.
UsageOften in live in a bubble or in your own bubble.
Similaratmosphere
Note
5
nouncountable
Any round, hollow thing shaped like a ball.
Like a clear ball you can see right through.
The glass bubble on the lamp glowed softly.
Plastic bubbles protected each light in the string.
Similardome, globe, sphere
6
verbfigurativelyintransitive
Of a feeling, to grow strongly inside you as if it is about to come out.
Like a pot of soup churning just before it boils over.
Emotions bubble just beneath his calm face.
Resentment bubbled among the workers for months.
UsageSay anger bubbles up.
Similarsimmer, seethe, boil, churn, brew
Note
7
rise throughverbfigurativelyintransitive
To slowly rise up through something, the way bubbles rise in water.
Like air rising slowly to the top of a glass of water.
Fresh talent tends to bubble up through the ranks over time.
Old memories bubbled to the surface as she read the letters.
UsageSay ideas bubble up.
Similarrise, percolate, filter, circulate, spread
Note
8
nouncountable
The point in a competition that separates those who go through or win money from those who are out.
Like standing right at the door of a club, not sure if you will be let in.
Her team sat right on the bubble before the final game.
One more win would push them off the bubble and into the playoffs.
UsageA team on the bubble may or may not get in.
Note
9
nouncountable
A group of people kept apart from everyone else so they do not catch or spread an illness.
Like drawing a circle around a group so no germs can get in or out.
The players lived in a bubble for the whole tournament.
The league set up a bubble at a hotel so no one would get sick.
UsageYou can say my bubble or our bubble.
Note
10
speak cheerfullyverbtransitive
To say something in a cheerful and lively way.
Like words spilling out fast and happy, the way soda fizzes over the top.
She bubbled her thanks the moment she opened the gift.
She couldn't wait to bubble the good news to her best friend.
UsageUsed like said, for happy talk.
Similargush
Note
11
verbtransitive
To push something out into a round shape, or to cover a surface with bubbles.
Like blowing into gum to puff it out into a ball.
High heat can bubble the surface of fresh paint.
The hot sun bubbled the paint on our old fence.
Similarblister
Note

Less common meanings

12
fill in circleverbtransitive
To fill in a small circle on a form to mark your answer.
Like coloring inside a tiny circle until it is completely dark.
Remember to bubble each answer clearly with a number two pencil.
Use a pencil to bubble in your answers.
UsageSay bubble in the answer.
Similarmark, fill
Note
13
travel dealnounabbreviationellipsis
Short for travel bubble: a deal letting people travel between certain places without quarantine, as during COVID-19.
The two countries opened a bubble so tourists could fly between them without quarantine.
Australia and New Zealand set up a bubble for safe travel.
UsageSay travel bubble first.
Note
14
join householdsverbintransitive
To form one close group with another household so you can meet safely.
Like drawing a circle around two homes and treating everyone inside as one family.
Our two families decided to bubble together during the lockdown.
Grandparents who bubble with one household can finally hug their grandchildren.
UsageSay bubble with another family.
Note
15
tell onverbslangUKtransitive
To secretly tell the police what someone has done wrong.
Like a kid telling the teacher exactly who broke the window.
He was scared his mate would bubble him to the police.
Someone bubbled the gang after the robbery.
Similarshop, grass, betray
Note
16
cryverbdialectalNorthern EnglandScotlandintransitive
To cry or weep, usually with sobbing.
Like tears spilling over the way a pot of water boils over the edge.
The little boy began to bubble when he lost his toy.
She bubbled all the way home after the sad film.
Similarcry, weep, sob, blubber
Note
17
verbdated
To gently pat a baby on the back to help it burp.
Mother sat up, picked up baby, put him on shoulder, bubbled him.
1958, David Mordecai Levy, Behavioral analysis: analysis of clinical observations of behavior as applied to mother-newborn relationships
18
noundated
Something that seems real but is empty or fake, like a trick or false plan.
19
verbrare
To filter what someone sees online so they mostly get results that match their own views.
20
noun
One of the tiny magnetic spots that stored data in an old kind of computer memory.
21
noun
A glass pipe with a round, ball-shaped end, used for smoking certain drugs.
22
nounslang
The bulb in a light: the part that actually makes the light.
23
noun
A guard's post in a prison unit, built so the officer can see in every direction.
24
noun
A small, hollow ball that floats, once used to test how strong a drink was.
25
nounobsolete
A person who was tricked by someone.
Gany's a cheat, and I'm a bubble.
1709, Matthew Prior, Cupid and Ganymede
26
noundialectalCockney
A laugh, in British rhyming slang.
27
noundialectalCockney
A Greek person, in British rhyming slang.
28
verbarchaic
To trick or cheat someone.
I need not tell your Worships, that this was done with so much cunning and artifice, —that the great Locke, who was seldom outwitted by false sounds, was nevertheless bubbled here.
1759, Laurence Sterne, Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of bubble apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

The word imitates the sound of bubbles, and is like words in Dutch and other languages. By 1700, people also used it for a money-making plan with little real value. It became closely linked to risky buying of shares around 1720, with the idea that prices could fall suddenly like a bubble bursting.