pebble
1 of 2noun
peb·ble ˈpe-bəl 
1
: a small usually rounded stone especially when worn by the action of water
2
: transparent and colorless quartz : rock crystal
3
: an irregular, crinkled, or grainy surface
pebbly
ˈpe-b(ə-)lē
adjective pebble
2 of 2verb
pebbled; pebbling ˈpe-b(ə-)liŋ
transitive verb
1
: to pelt with pebbles
2
: to pave or cover with pebbles or something resembling pebbles
3
: to grain (a material, such as leather) so as to produce a rough and irregularly indented surface
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web
Ann Albers, USA TODAY, 1 Sep. 2022 In one of the collages on display, William Burroughs’s profile nearly eclipses that of the nineteen-fifties movie star turned gay icon Tab Hunter, and both are all but obscured by a swarm of pebble-like fragments and bits of collage. Vince Aletti, The New Yorker, 22 July 2022 And the Israel Space Agency donated a pebble from the lowest dry land surface on Earth, the shore of the Dead Sea, to travel on Artemis 1, a flight that will venture further than any human has gone before. Ashley Strickland, CNN, 15 Aug. 2022 During Greer’s tenure as Senior Editor, SPIN went from a pebble in Rolling Stone’s shoe, to being at the forefront of the Grunge Era, due, in large part, to their coverage of a small three-piece band from Seattle named Nirvana. Mike Postalakis, SPIN, 3 Aug. 2022 From those pensive jigsaw puzzles, Scarbath shapes works of different textures from the flotsam and jetsam of everyday life: a shard of colored glass or a pebble that just caught her eye. Mike Klingaman, Baltimore Sun, 29 June 2022 Ankylosaurs, by contrast, had heavier coats of armor that could take the form of pebble-like dots to massive spikes and even club tails. Riley Black, Smithsonian Magazine, 31 May 2022 In 1996, an archaeologist named Aly A. Barakat was doing fieldwork in an Egyptian desert and stumbled across an unusual shiny black pebble now known as the Hypatia stone (after Hypatia of Alexandria). Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 2 June 2022 Consider styles made from materials meant to get better with each wear, like nubuck or pebble-grained leather. Shelby Ying Hyde, Harper's BAZAAR, 30 May 2022 See More
Noun
Other items include a pebble from the Dead Sea contributed by the Israel Space Agency. Ann Albers, USA TODAY, 1 Sep. 2022 In one of the collages on display, William Burroughs’s profile nearly eclipses that of the nineteen-fifties movie star turned gay icon Tab Hunter, and both are all but obscured by a swarm of pebble-like fragments and bits of collage. Vince Aletti, The New Yorker, 22 July 2022 And the Israel Space Agency donated a pebble from the lowest dry land surface on Earth, the shore of the Dead Sea, to travel on Artemis 1, a flight that will venture further than any human has gone before. Ashley Strickland, CNN, 15 Aug. 2022 During Greer’s tenure as Senior Editor, SPIN went from a pebble in Rolling Stone’s shoe, to being at the forefront of the Grunge Era, due, in large part, to their coverage of a small three-piece band from Seattle named Nirvana. Mike Postalakis, SPIN, 3 Aug. 2022 From those pensive jigsaw puzzles, Scarbath shapes works of different textures from the flotsam and jetsam of everyday life: a shard of colored glass or a pebble that just caught her eye. Mike Klingaman, Baltimore Sun, 29 June 2022 Ankylosaurs, by contrast, had heavier coats of armor that could take the form of pebble-like dots to massive spikes and even club tails. Riley Black, Smithsonian Magazine, 31 May 2022 In 1996, an archaeologist named Aly A. Barakat was doing fieldwork in an Egyptian desert and stumbled across an unusual shiny black pebble now known as the Hypatia stone (after Hypatia of Alexandria). Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 2 June 2022 Consider styles made from materials meant to get better with each wear, like nubuck or pebble-grained leather. Shelby Ying Hyde, Harper's BAZAAR, 30 May 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
Noun
Middle English pobble, from Old English papolstān, from papol- (of unknown origin) + stān stone
First Known Use
Noun
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Verb
1605, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Kids Definition
pebble
noun
peb·ble ˈpe-bəl
: a small rounded stone