# adobe

/əˈdoʊbi/ (US) · /ɐdˈəʊbi/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/adobe
Updated: 2026-06-20

## Senses

### 1. building material

noun · CEFR B2

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

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

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

noun · CEFR B2

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

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

- They lived in a beautiful old adobe near the edge of the desert.
- The historic district is famous for its well-preserved adobes, many of which have stood for over a century despite the harsh environmental conditions.

## Examples

- The old house is built of adobe.
- They used local adobe to build the walls of their new desert home.
- The ancient city's adobe structures have survived centuries of wind and sun, standing as a testament to early architectural ingenuity.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.