Bubble Meaning
/ˈbʌb.l̩/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA spherically contained volume of air or other gas, especially one made from soapy liquid.
nounA small spherical cavity in a solid material.
Sentence Examples
During the bubble, people dreamed of a life of leisure.
That's because the bubble vanished into thin air.
CEFR Practice Quiz
She gently blew through the plastic ring, watching a single soapy ____ float up into the sky.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The young child blew a large ____ with her pink strawberry gum today.
Word Origin & History
Partly imitative, also influenced by burble. Compare Middle Dutch bobbe (“bubble”) > Dutch bubbel (“bubble”), Low German bubbel (“bubble”), Danish boble (“bubble”), Swedish bubbla (“bubble”). The word was first used in its economic sense in association with the collapse of the South Sea Company in 1720, based on the metaphor of an inflated soap bubble bursting.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Then a soldier […] / Seeking the bubble reputation / Even in the cannon's mouth"
— c. 1598–1600 (date written), William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene vii]:
"Thanks to the proliferation of semiconductor chips and cell phones—the number of U.S. cell phones grew from essentially zero in 1983 to nearly two hundred million by the end of 2004, and as of 2003 over one billion cell phones were in use worldwide, so by the time the high-tech bubble approached its bursting point in 2000 and 2001, coltan had become an extremely hot commodity."
— 2007, Elizabeth Grossman, High Tech Trash, Island Press, →ISBN, page 46:
"The yawning gap between data-center expenditures and the rest of the economy has caused whispers of bubble to rise to a chorus. […] Rapid construction of canals, railroads, and the fiber-optic cables laid during the dot-com bubble all created frenzies of hype, investment, and financial speculation that crashed markets."
— 2025 October 30, Matteo Wong, Charlie Warzel, “Here’s How the AI Crash Happens”, in The Atlantic:
"Thomas, so often West Brom's most positive attacker down their left side and up against Salgado, twice almost burst the bubble of excitement around the ground but he had two efforts superbly saved by Robinson."
— 2011 January 23, Alistair Magowan, “Blackburn 2 - 0 West Brom”, in BBC:
"He’s wrapped up snugly in a cozy bubble of self-regard, talking for his own sake more than anyone else’s."
— 2012 June 3, Nathan Rabin, “TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “Mr. Plow” (season 4, episode 9; originally aired 11/19/1992)”, in The A.V. Club:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
She gently blew through the plastic ring, watching a single soapy ____ float up into the sky.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The young child blew a large ____ with her pink strawberry gum today.