bubble
/ˈbʌb(ə)l
/noun
1A thin sphere of liquid enclosing air or another gas: we’d shake up a piece of soap in a tin of warm water and blow bubbles...
- Her wet-sleeved urchin takes advantage of the soapy water to blow bubbles.
- Holding her breath, she dove into the water and blew bubbles.
- She had created this illusion with her faith, as one makes bubbles, blowing on soap water.
1.1An air- or gas-filled spherical cavity in a liquid or a solidified liquid such as glass: the white foamy part of a broken wave is largely made up of air bubbles...
- Drawn beads are produced from a bubble of molten glass that is drawn into a long hollow tube.
- Stirring the mortar sample for 30 seconds releases entrained air bubbles into a viscous liquid at the base of a column of water.
- One that caught my eye seemed to be a mass of bubbles in blown glass.
Synonyms
globule, bead, blister, drop;
air cavity, air pocket;
(bubbles) sparkle, fizz, effervescence, mousse, froth, head, lather, suds
informal glob
technical barm
2Used to refer to a good or fortunate situation that is isolated from reality or unlikely to last: we both lived in a bubble, the kind provided by occupying a privileged pied-à-terre in Greenwich Village...
- He lived in a bubble, a microcosmic world, traveling by train through war-torn Germany with the windows shaded.
- Scroggins quotes many of Emma's friends, who describe her naivety, her refusal to take life seriously, the fact that "she lived in a bubble".
- He lives in a bubble of his own making, surrounded by a small number of friends and family.
Synonyms
illusion, delusion, fantasy, dream, pipe dream, daydream, chimera, vanity, castle in the air;
transient phenomenon, short-lived phenomenon
informal pie in the sky
2.1Used to refer to a significant, usually rapid, increase in asset prices that is soon followed by a collapse in prices and typically arises from speculation or enthusiasm rather than intrinsic increases in value: the US economy squandered trillions as a result of the 1990s stock market bubble many companies enjoyed rapid expansion before the bubble burst...
- What we had in the 1990s was a classic bubble.
- Our shrewdest move was not overreacting to the bubble or to the bust.
- There has even been talk that housing could experience a crash reminiscent of the tech bubble.
3A transparent domed cover or enclosure: piglets born into a sterile bubble...
- What we need to do is to enclose the entire ground in a gigantic transparent plastic bubble.
- Will we one day have to undergo scores of vaccinations in order to feel safe, or live in sterile bubbles?
- He held up a black cylinder the size of a pen that had a red button on the top, which was covered by a hard plastic safety bubble.
3.1A place or position that is protected from danger or unpleasant reality: they are not on tour packages seeing foreign ports from a bubble...
- Isolationists live in bubbles and are not aware that they will burst.
- How can distances to objects be surveyed beyond our neighborhood bubble?
- It was getting harder for the little man to maintain his bubble of safety but he fought on.
4 (also bubble shell) A marine mollusc that typically has a thin scroll-like shell.
- Bullidae and other families, order Cephalaspidea, class Gastropoda.
- This little bubble was sorted out of shell grit collected from 10 meters of water. Anakena Beach, Easter Island. March, 1998.
- We do not know enough about the the other sea-slugs, in particular the Bubble Shells, even to make a reasonable guess of their numbers
verb [no object]
1(Of a liquid) form rising bubbles of gas or air: a pot of coffee bubbled away on the stove...
- She saw the boats pulling away from the docks and the water foamed and bubbled beneath them.
- She stirred a pot of stew that bubbled above the fire.
- Meanwhile Andrew lived simply on a diet of mussels and whelks and the occasional boiled crab that bubbled in the pot.
Synonyms
sparkle, fizz, effervesce, gurgle, foam, froth, spume
boil, simmer, seethe, gurgle
1.1Make a bubbling sound: close by, a stream bubbled along through reeds and rushes (as adjective bubbling) a bubbling fountain...
- The aim of the bubbling fountains is to create water sounds which are meant to be soothing.
- The use of rhythm is usually absent, in favor of floating bass and bubbling sine waves.
- Not far away is Rotorua, a tourist spot famed for its steam, geysers, bubbling mud and foul, sulphurous smells.
1.2 (bubble with/over with) Be filled with an irrepressible positive feeling: Ellen was bubbling with enthusiasm...
- The hoteliers, restaurants and bars are more than happy with this development and are bubbling with enthusiasm for the calibre of their new hard-working recruits who actually volunteer for overtime to reach their saving goals.
- His mind is bubbling with ideas to help improve the West of Ireland.
- Davy Conway can contribute a lot more from play while Michael John Tierney often looks too complacent on the ball while bubbling with self-confidence.
Synonyms
overflow, brim over, be filled, run over, gush
1.3 (bubble up) (Of a feeling) become more intense and approach the point of being expressed: the fury bubbling up inside her...
- The stories that spring to mind while looking at this work are both humorous and unsettling, bubbling up from one's unconscious like twisted fairy tales.
- I had to suppress a hysterical giggle bubbling up inside of me.
- Well, this has been sort of bubbling up for the past few years.
Phrases
burst someone's bubble
on the bubble
Origin
Middle English: partly imitative, partly an alteration of burble.