ENGLISH
REFERENCE

adobe

n.
US //əˈdoʊbi// UK //ɐdˈəʊbi// adobe
  1. 1 building material (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate

    a mixture of mud and straw that is shaped into bricks and dried in the sun instead of being heated in an oven.

    a natural building material made from sand, clay, water, and organic material such as straw, which is formed into bricks and sun-dried.

    Example

    The ancient walls were built from thick adobe to keep the house cool in the summer.

    Example

    Traditional builders in the region still prefer adobe for its thermal mass, which regulates indoor temperatures effectively during the desert's extreme heat cycles.
  2. 2 a type of house (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate

    a house or building that is made out of adobe bricks.

    a structure or dwelling constructed primarily from sun-dried earth bricks.

    Example

    They lived in a beautiful old adobe near the edge of the desert.

    Example

    The historic district is famous for its well-preserved adobes, many of which have stood for over a century despite the harsh environmental conditions.
Origin

From Spanish adobe, from Arabic اَلطُّوب (aṭ-ṭūb), from Sahidic Coptic ⲧⲱⲃⲉ (tōbe, “brick”), from Demotic Egyptian ⁠⁠ (tb, “brick”), from Egyptian Db-b-t:O39 (ḏbt, “brick, block, ingot”).

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Last updated June 20, 2026