# cobble

/ˈkɑbəɫ/ (US) · /kˈɒbəl/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/cobble
Updated: 2026-08-27

## Senses

### 1. to put together roughly

verb · CEFR B2

to make or put something together quickly and roughly, often using whatever is available.

For teachers: to assemble or put something together in an improvised or hasty manner. Often used with the particle 'together'.

- The team had to cobble together a presentation in just one hour before the meeting.
- The administration managed to cobble together a temporary coalition, though critics doubted the alliance would survive the upcoming budget vote.

### 2. to pave with stones

verb · CEFR C1 · Formal

to cover a road or path with rounded stones.

For teachers: to pave a surface with cobblestones. Transitive in modern usage.

- The city decided to cobble the old market square to make it look more traditional.
- The local council voted to cobble the historic district's alleyways, aiming to preserve the eighteenth-century aesthetic for the benefit of tourism.

### 3. a paving stone

noun · CEFR B2

a rounded stone used for paving old streets.

For teachers: a naturally rounded stone, larger than a pebble, used traditionally for paving roads.

- The old town is famous for its narrow streets made of grey cobbles.
- The heavy rain made the ancient cobbles dangerously slick, forcing the cyclists to slow down as they entered the village square.

### 4. geological size

noun · CEFR C2 · Technical

a rock that is between 64 and 256 millimetres in size.

For teachers: a rock fragment larger than a pebble but smaller than a boulder, specifically between 64 and 256 mm in diameter on the Wentworth scale.

- The river bed was covered in smooth cobbles washed down from the mountains.
- The geological survey categorised the sediment as a mixture of coarse gravel and cobbles, indicating a high-energy fluvial environment.

## Examples

- The riverbed was covered in smooth cobble.
- Geologists examined the cobble to determine how long the river had been flowing through the valley.
- The sedimentary layer was composed primarily of angular cobble and sand, suggesting a high-energy environment where the water moved quickly enough to transport larger particles.

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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.