pebble
/ˈpɛb(ə)l
/noun
A small stone made smooth and round by the action of water or sand: [as modifier]: a narrow pebble beach...
- We had sediments, river mud, pebbles rounded by water action, even the remains of aquatic plants on the site.
- It's a lovely place and we walked across stepping stones and skimmed pebbles in the river.
- They consist of particulate rocks that vary in size from sand to pebbles and cobbles.
adjective [attributive] informal
(Of a spectacle lens) very thick and convex: pebble glasses...
- He was a small, bald man in his fifties with pebble glasses.
Phrases
not the only pebble on the beach
Derivatives
pebbled
- A handsome man strides along a pebbled beach in New England.
- The floor under the stairs is pebbled with a wall-length glass panel window overlooking the well-kept garden.
- We sat on the pebbled beach and watched the sun setting.
pebbly
/ adjective (pebblier, pebbliest) ...- These are ideal for pebbly or rocky beaches and for getting into and out of the sea.
- But anyways, I keep finding these round pebbly things.
- The crowd were standing on a slanted pebbly beach.
Origin
Late Old English, recorded as the first element of papel-stān 'pebble-stone', pyppelrīpig 'pebble-stream', of unknown origin. The word is recorded in place names from the early 12th century onwards.