Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular presenttense bubbles, present participle bubbling, past tense, past participle bubbled
1. countable noun
Bubbles are small balls of air or gas in a liquid.
Ink particles attach themselves to air bubbles and rise to the surface.
...a bubble of gas trapped under the surface. [+ of]
Synonyms: air ball, drop, bead, blister More Synonyms of bubble
2. countable noun
A bubble is a hollow ball of soapy liquid that is floating in the air or standing on a surface.
With soap and water, bubbles and boats, children love bathtime.
3. countable noun
A bubble is a situation in which large numbers of people want to buy shares in a company that is new or not yet financially successful, and pay more than the shares are worth. When it becomes clear that the shares are worth less than people paid for them, you can say that the bubble has burst.
[business]
This is the point when a rising market turns into a speculative bubble.
They vie to cash in before the bubble bursts.
4. countable noun
In a cartoon, a speech bubble is the shape which surrounds the words that a character is thinking or saying.
5. verb
When a liquid bubbles, bubbles move in it, for example because it is boiling or moving quickly.
Heat the seasoned stock until it is bubbling. [VERB]
The coffeepot bubbled, filling the room with fragrance. [VERB]
The fermenting wine has bubbled up and over the top. [VERB adverb/preposition]
Danny looked down at the stream bubbling through the trees nearby. [VERB adverb/preposition]
Synonyms: boil, simmer, seethe More Synonyms of bubble
6. verb
If something bubbles, it is very busy or lively.
[written]
The book bubbles with appreciation of the joys of the sport. [VERBwith noun]
The show bubbles like pink champagne with pretty sets and enchanting dance routines. [VERB]
7. verb [usually cont]
A feeling, influence, or activity that is bubbling away continues to occur.
...political tensions that have been bubbling away for years. [VERB adverb/preposition]
Rumours of financial scandals have come bubbling back to the surface. [VERB adverb/preposition]
Retail sales and car sales have been bubbling along, quite nicely, for some months. [VERB adverb/preposition]
8. verb [usually cont]
Someone who is bubbling with a good feeling is so full of it that they keep expressing the way they feel to everyone around them.
She came to the phone bubbling with excitement. [VERB + with]
She came back bubbling with ideas. [VERBwith noun]
Bubble over means the same as bubble.
He was quite tireless, bubbling over with vitality. [VERBPARTICLE + with]
Bubble is also a noun.
As she spoke she felt a bubble of optimism rising inside her. [+ of]
Phrasal verbs:
See bubble over
See bubble up
More Synonyms of bubble
bubble in British English
(ˈbʌbəl)
noun
1.
a thin film of liquid forming a hollow globule around air or a gas
a soap bubble
2.
a small globule of air or a gas in a liquid or a solid, as in carbonated drinks, glass, etc
3.
the sound made by a bubbling liquid
4.
something lacking substance, stability, or seriousness
5.
an unreliable scheme or enterprise
6.
a dome, esp a transparent glass or plastic one
verb
7.
to form or cause to form bubbles
8. (intransitive)
to move or flow with a gurgling sound
9. (intransitive; often foll byover)
to overflow (with excitement, anger, etc)
10. (intransitive) Scottish
to snivel; blubber
Word origin
C14: probably of Scandinavian origin; compare Swedish bubbla, Danish boble, Dutch bobbel, all of imitative origin
bubble in American English
(ˈbʌbəl)
noun
1.
a very thin film of liquid forming a ball around air or gas
soap bubbles
2.
a tiny ball of air or gas in a liquid or solid, as in carbonated water, glass, etc.
3.
anything shaped like a bubble, sphere, or hemisphere, as a plastic or glass dome
4.
a.
anything that is ephemeral or insubstantial
b.
any idea, scheme, etc. that seems plausible at first but quickly shows itself to be worthless or misleading
5.
the act, process, or sound of bubbling
verb intransitiveWord forms: ˈbubbled or ˈbubbling
6.
to make bubbles; rise in bubbles; boil; foam; effervesce
7.
to make a boiling or gurgling sound
verb transitive
8.
to form bubbles in; make bubble
9. US, Informal
to cause (a baby) to burp
Idioms:
bubble over
on the bubble
Word origin
ME bobel, of echoic orig., as in MDu bubbel
bubble in Finance
(bʌbəl)
Word forms: (regular plural) bubbles
noun
(Finance: Economics)
A bubble is a situation in which a type of investment such as housing or stocks has prices driven far above actual value by speculators.
Amid fears of a property bubble in China, the agency that oversees state-owned firms ordered 78 of the biggest onesto stop dabbling in the property market.
It should be no surprise that, after a bubble, prices fall in some areas, and some prices fall more than others.
A bubble is a situation in which a type of investment such as housing or stocks has pricesdriven far above actual value by speculators.
More idioms containing
bubble
on the bubble
the bubble has burst
COBUILD Collocations
bubble
tech bubble
Examples of 'bubble' in a sentence
bubble
They then coalesce to form larger bubbles.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
It can be profoundly distressing to have your bubble burst.
The Sun (2016)
Add the banana and leave to bubble away.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
This is one housing bubble you might actually want.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
It was like breathing through bubbles.
The Sun (2016)
The bubbles form due to dissolved carbon dioxide, which are produced during fermentation inside the bottles.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
If not, better to burst the bubble while you are still emotionally intact.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
It's right there, bubbling at the back of your throat.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
The three-hour Thames cruise also includes a glass of bubbles and a threecourse meal.
The Sun (2016)
After shaking a bottle of Scotch, the length of time the surface bubbles survive is proportional to the proof.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
That and music that seems to bubble through you like vintage champagne.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Turn the heat up so that the liquid is bubbling furiously.
The Sun (2012)
They had burst the bubble of their mediocrity.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
There was a speculative bubble because it was so easy to borrow.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Suddenly there were tables and people and the bubble of conversation.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
There is a possibility that the gas could bubble up and sink any nearby ships.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
The anger bubbles below the surface of the ready smile and the relaxed manner.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Quickly brown both sides of one tortilla until bubbling and golden.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Otherwise the band is tight and the excitement is bubbling under.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
These were tiny wooden paddles with a little bubble of glass.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
She took the cap off it and checked it for air bubbles.
Ridgway, Roy Caring for your Unborn Child (1990)
Within seconds of the impact a great bubble of cloud formed over the city centre.
Baxter, Stephen Anti-Ice (1993)
Wonderful bubbles of optimism are coursing round my body again.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
This should keep things bubbling along nicely.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
You just have to bring them back down and keep bubbling away.
The Sun (2016)
Success is like a bubble and only appears now and then.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Splash the vinegar into the pan and cook until the liquid has bubbled away.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
We had just seen the dotcom bubble burst but there were still exciting things to be done on the internet.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
In other languages
bubble
British English: bubble /ˈbʌbl/ NOUN
Bubbles are small balls of air or gas in a liquid.
...a bubble of gas.
American English: bubble
Arabic: فُقّاعَة
Brazilian Portuguese: bolha
Chinese: 泡沫
Croatian: mjehurić
Czech: bublina
Danish: boble
Dutch: bubbel
European Spanish: burbuja
Finnish: kupla
French: bulle
German: Blase Luft
Greek: φυσαλλίδα
Italian: bolla sfera
Japanese: 泡
Korean: 거품
Norwegian: boble
Polish: bańka
European Portuguese: bolha
Romanian: bulă
Russian: пузырек
Latin American Spanish: burbuja
Swedish: bubbla
Thai: ฟอง
Turkish: kabarcık
Ukrainian: бульбашка
Vietnamese: bong bóng
British English: bubble VERB
When a liquid bubbles, bubbles move in it, for example because it is boiling or moving quickly.
Heat the seasoned stock until it is bubbling.
American English: bubble
Brazilian Portuguese: borbulhar
Chinese: 沸腾
European Spanish: burbujear
French: bouillonner
German: sprudeln
Italian: ribollire
Japanese: 沸騰する
Korean: 거품이 일다
European Portuguese: borbulhar
Latin American Spanish: burbujear
All related terms of 'bubble'
bubble up
A feeling that is bubbling up inside you is growing stronger and stronger.
air bubble
a small pocket of air in a liquid, glass, metal etc
bubble bath
Bubble bath is a liquid that smells nice and makes a lot of bubbles when you add it to your bath water.
bubble car
(in Britain, formerly) a small car , often having three wheels , with a transparent bubble-shaped top
bubble gum
Bubble gum is a sweet substance similar to chewing gum. You can blow it out of your mouth so it makes the shape of a bubble.
bubble over
to overflow , as boiling liquid
bubble pack
a type of packet in which small items are displayed and sold, consisting of a transparent dome of plastic or similar material mounted on a firm backing such as cardboard
bubble tea
Bubble tea is a sweet drink based on tea mixed with milk or fruit flavourings, with chewy balls made of tapioca or jelly floating in it.
bubble-top
a bulletproof , transparent dome , as over the rear section of an automobile
bubble wrap
a type of polythene wrapping containing many small air pockets , used as a protective covering when transporting breakable goods
soap bubble
a bubble formed from soapy water
tech bubble
A bubble is a situation in which large numbers of people want to buy shares in a company that is new or not yet financially successful , and pay more than the shares are worth . When it becomes clear that the shares are worth less than people paid for them, you can say that the bubble has burst.
bubble column
A bubble column is a reactor in which a gas bubbles up through a liquid or slurry .
bubble float
a hollow spherical float that can be weighted with water to aid casting
bubble memory
a method of storing high volumes of data by the use of minute pockets of magnetism ( bubbles ) in a semiconducting material. The bubbles may be caused to migrate past a read head or to a buffer area for storage
bubble point
the temperature at which bubbles just start to appear in a heated liquid mixture
bubble under
to remain just beneath a particular level
hubble-bubble
hubbub ; turmoil
speech bubble
a circle around the words that someone says in a cartoon
bubble chamber
a device that enables the tracks of ionizing particles to be photographed as a row of bubbles in a superheated liquid. Immediately before the particles enter the chamber the pressure is reduced so that the ionized particles act as centres for small vapour bubbles
bubble company
a company whose shares are highly valued and then plummet
magnetic bubble
a small round magnetic domain induced by a magnetic field in a thin film of magnetic material, used in certain types of computer memories
on the bubble
in a difficult situation, and very likely to fail
bubble and squeak
Bubble and squeak is a dish made from a mixture of cold cooked cabbage, potato, and sometimes meat. It can be grilled or fried.
bubble-jet printer
an ink-jet printer that heats the ink before printing
South Sea Bubble
the financial crash that occurred in 1720 after the South Sea Company had taken over the national debt in return for a monopoly of trade with the South Seas, causing feverish speculation in their stocks
the bubble has burst
said to mean that a situation or idea which was very successful has suddenly stopped being successful
blister pack
a type of packet in which small items are displayed and sold, consisting of a transparent dome of plastic or similar material mounted on a firm backing such as cardboard
bubblehead
a frivolous person
Chinese translation of 'bubble'
bubble
(ˈbʌbl)
n(c)
(in liquid) 泡 (pào) (个(個), gè)
(also soap bubble) 肥皂泡 (féizàopào) (个(個), gè)
vi
[liquid]起泡 (qǐpào)
to be bubbling (over) with confidence/ideas充满(滿)信心/想法 (chōngmǎn xìnxīn/xiǎngfǎ)
1 (noun)
Definition
a small globule of air or a gas in a liquid or a solid
a bubble of gas trapped under the surface
Synonyms
air ball
drop
a drop of blue ink
bead
beads of sweat
blister
blob
a blob of chocolate mousse
droplet
globule
Bone marrow contains fat in the form of small globules.
vesicle
air pocket
air cavity
2 (noun)
a bubble of optimism
Synonyms
sudden strong feeling
welling-up
(plural noun)
With bubbles and boats, children love bathtime.
Synonyms
foam
fizz
froth
lather
suds
He had soap suds in his ears.
spume
effervescence
head
1 (verb)
Heat the seasoned stock until it is bubbling.
Synonyms
boil
I stood in the kitchen, waiting for the water to boil.
simmer
He simmered with rage.
seethe
a seething cauldron of broth
2 (verb)
Definition
to form bubbles
The fermenting tea bubbled over the top.
Synonyms
foam
We watched the water foam and bubble.
fizz
She was holding a tray of glasses that fizzed.
froth
The sea froths over my feet.
churn
Churning seas smash against the steep cliffs.
agitate
Gently agitate the water with a paintbrush.
percolate
effervesce
These tablets effervesce when water is added.
3 (verb)
Definition
to move or flow with a gurgling sound
He looked at the stream bubbling through the trees nearby.
Synonyms
gurgle
a narrow channel along which water gurgles
splash
murmur
trickle
ripple
Throw a pebble in a pool and it ripples.
babble
a brook babbling only yards from the door
trill
burble
lap
the water that lapped against the pillars of the pier