# bubble

/ˈbəbəɫ/ (US) · /bˈʌbəl/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/bubble
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. air in liquid

noun · CEFR B1

a small ball of air or gas inside a liquid or a solid material like glass.

For teachers: a spherical volume of gas contained within a liquid or a solid; often formed by surface tension in soapy water.

- The children were blowing soap bubbles in the garden all afternoon.
- The artisan glassblower carefully manipulated the molten material to ensure no tiny air bubbles remained trapped within the finished vase.

### 2. social isolation

noun · CEFR B2

a situation where you only talk to people who have the same ideas as you, or a safe group you stay with during a sickness.

For teachers: a state of social or intellectual isolation where an individual is protected from outside influences or differing viewpoints.

- Living in a university bubble can make you forget what the real world is like.
- Social media algorithms often trap users in an ideological bubble, reinforcing existing biases by filtering out any dissenting perspectives.

### 3. economics

noun · CEFR B2

a time when prices for things like houses or stocks go up too fast and then suddenly crash.

For teachers: a period of intense market speculation where asset prices rise to levels significantly above their intrinsic value before a rapid collapse.

- Many people lost their savings when the housing bubble finally burst.
- Economists warned that the tech bubble was unsustainable, yet investors continued to pour capital into companies with no clear path to profitability.

### 4. sports/competitions

noun · CEFR C1 · Informal

the point in a tournament where you are almost, but not quite, qualified for the next round or a prize.

For teachers: the threshold in a competition or tournament where participants are either included in the prize-winning group or eliminated.

- He was on the bubble for the final team selection, but he didn't make the cut.
- As the poker tournament reached the bubble, the remaining players became noticeably more cautious, desperate to survive until the prize money was guaranteed.

### 5. to make bubbles

verb · CEFR B1

to produce bubbles, like water when it starts to boil.

For teachers: to form or produce bubbles; to rise to the surface in the form of gas-filled spheres.

- The soup was bubbling away on the stove, smelling delicious.
- The chemical solution began to bubble and hiss as soon as the catalyst was introduced to the beaker.

### 6. to feel an emotion

verb · CEFR B2

to feel a strong emotion that is starting to show.

For teachers: to manifest a feeling or quality that is becoming difficult to suppress.

- Anger was bubbling inside him as he listened to the lies.
- A sense of quiet excitement bubbled through the crowd as the lights dimmed and the performance was about to begin.

## Examples

- The children are blowing bubbles in the garden.
- Investors grew worried that the housing market was in a bubble that would eventually burst and cause a recession.
- While the tech bubble of the late nineties saw unprecedented market speculation, it also laid the physical infrastructure for the modern internet through massive investment in fiber-optic cables.

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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.