Adjacent Words

Bubble definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

BUB'BLE, n.
1. A small bladder or vesicle of water or other fluid inflated with air.
2. Any thing that wants firmness or solidity; a vain project; that which is more specious than real. Hence, a false show; a cheat or fraud.
3. A delusive scheme of speculation; an empty project to raise money or imaginary grounds; as the South Sea bubble.
4. A person deceived by an empty project.
BUB'BLE, v.i. To rise in bubbles, as liquors when boiling or agitated.
1. To run with a gurgling noise; as a bubbling stream.
BUB'BLE, v.t. To cheat; to deceive or impose on.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a hollow globule of gas (e.g., air or carbon dioxide)
2: a speculative scheme that depends on unstable factors that the planner cannot control; "his proposal was nothing but a house of cards"; "a real estate bubble" [syn: house of cards, bubble]
3: an impracticable and illusory idea; "he didn't want to burst the newcomer's bubble"
4: a dome-shaped covering made of transparent glass or plastic v
1: form, produce, or emit bubbles; "The soup was bubbling"
2: flow in an irregular current with a bubbling noise; "babbling brooks" [syn: ripple, babble, guggle, burble, bubble, gurgle]
3: rise in bubbles or as if in bubbles; "bubble to the surface"
4: cause to form bubbles; "bubble gas through a liquid"
5: expel gas from the stomach; "In China it is polite to burp at the table" [syn: burp, bubble, belch, eruct]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Usage: often attributive Etymology: Middle English bobel Date: 14th century 1. a small globule typically hollow and light: as a. a small body of gas within a liquid b. a thin film of liquid inflated with air or gas c. a globule in a transparent solid d. something (as a plastic or inflatable structure) that is hemispherical or semicylindrical 2. a. something that lacks firmness, solidity, or reality b. a delusive scheme 3. a sound like that of bubbling 4. magnetic bubble 5. a state of booming economic activity (as in a stock market) that often ends in a sudden collapse 6. the condition of being at risk of exclusion or replacement (as from a tournament) — usually used in the phrase on the bubble <teams still on the bubble for the play-offs> II. verb (bubbled; bubbling) Date: 15th century intransitive verb 1. a. to form or produce bubbles b. to rise in or as if in bubbles — usually used with up 2. to flow with a gurgling sound <a brook bubbling over rocks> 3. a. to become lively or effervescent <bubbling with good humor> b. to speak in a lively and fluent manner transitive verb 1. to utter (as words) effervescently 2. to cause to bubble

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 a a thin sphere of liquid enclosing air etc. b an air-filled cavity in a liquid or a solidified liquid such as glass or amber. 2 the sound or appearance of boiling. 3 a transparent domed cavity. 4 a visionary or unrealistic project or enterprise (the South Sea Bubble). --v.intr. 1 rise in or send up bubbles. 2 make the sound of boiling. Phrases and idioms: bubble and squeak Brit. cooked cabbage fried with cooked potatoes or meat. bubble bath 1 a preparation for adding to bath water to make it foam. 2 a bath with this added. bubble car Brit. a small motor car with a transparent dome. bubble chamber Physics an apparatus designed to make the tracks of ionizing particles visible as a row of bubbles in a liquid. bubble gum chewing-gum that can be blown into bubbles. bubble memory Computing a type of memory which stores data as a pattern of magnetized regions in a thin layer of magnetic material. bubble over (often foll. by with) be exuberant with laughter, excitement, anger, etc. bubble pack a small package enclosing goods in a transparent material on a backing. Etymology: ME: prob. imit.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Bubble Bub"ble, n. [Cf. D. bobbel, Dan. boble, Sw. bubbla. Cf. Blob, n.] 1. A thin film of liquid inflated with air or gas; as, a soap bubble; bubbles on the surface of a river. Beads of sweat have stood upon thy brow, Like bubbles in a late disturbed stream. --Shak. 2. A small quantity of air or gas within a liquid body; as, bubbles rising in champagne or a["e]rated waters. 3. A globule of air, or globular vacuum, in a transparent solid; as, bubbles in window glass, or in a lens. 4. A small, hollow, floating bead or globe, formerly used for testing the strength of spirits. 5. The globule of air in the spirit tube of a level. 6. Anything that wants firmness or solidity; that which is more specious than real; a false show; a cheat or fraud; a delusive scheme; an empty project; a dishonest speculation; as, the South Sea bubble. Then a soldier . . . Seeking the bubble reputation Even in the cannon's mouth. --Shak. 7. A person deceived by an empty project; a gull. [Obs.] ``Ganny's a cheat, and I'm a bubble.'' --Prior.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Bubble Bub"ble, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Bubbled; p. pr. & vb. n. Bubbling.] [Cf. D. bobbelen, Dan. boble. See Bubble, n.] 1. To rise in bubbles, as liquids when boiling or agitated; to contain bubbles. The milk that bubbled in the pail. --Tennyson. 2. To run with a gurgling noise, as if forming bubbles; as, a bubbling stream. --Pope. 3. To sing with a gurgling or warbling sound. At mine ear Bubbled the nightingale and heeded not. --Tennyson.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(bubbles, bubbling, bubbled) 1. 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. N-COUNT 2. 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. N-COUNT 3. 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) Everyone is hoping that these hi-tech companies will turn out to be the Microsofts of the future. At the moment they look more like the focus of a speculative bubble... When the development bubble burst, federal regulators started probing the balance sheets of the biggest banks. N-COUNT 4. In a cartoon, a speech bubble is the shape which surrounds the words which a character is thinking or saying. N-COUNT 5. 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... The fermenting wine has bubbled up and over the top... VERB: V, V adv/prep 6. A feeling, influence, or activity that is bubbling away continues to occur. ...political tensions that have been bubbling away for years... VERB: usu cont, V adv/prep 7. 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: usu cont, V with n • Bubble over means the same as bubble. He was quite tireless, bubbling over with vitality. PHRASAL VERB: V P with n • Bubble is also a noun. As she spoke she felt a bubble of optimism rising inside her. N-COUNT: usu N of n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Bleb, blob, fluid vesicle. 2. Trifle, bagatelle, small matter. 3. Cheat, delusion, hoax, false show.

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

To cheat.

Moby Thesaurus

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