bubble
bubble — noun
1. a small round space holding gas inside liquid or another material
a small round space holding gas inside liquid or another material
Tiny bubbles rose in the soup as the pot started to boil.
bubbles rise to the surface
An air bubble was trapped under the phone screen protector.
air bubble in [something]
Bubbles clung to the diver's mask after she came up.
The glass vase has a bubble near its thick base.
bubble in solid material
- air bubble
- soap bubbles in water
- bubble under the surface
- bubble in glass
Grammar Patterns
air bubble in [something]
bubbles rise to the surface
a bubble under [surface]
Usage Note
Often used for liquid, glass, plastic, or a surface layer. Distinguish from sense 2: this sense is the small pocket of gas itself, not the floating soap ball children blow.
Common Mistakes
2. a thin round shape of soapy water with air inside that floats in the air
a thin round shape of soapy water with air inside that floats in the air
Noa blew a huge bubble that drifted over the garden fence.
blow a bubble
A soap bubble landed on Ravi's sleeve and burst at once.
a bubble bursts
Two bubbles floated past the bus stop after the party game.
The baby laughed when Iris filled the room with bubbles.
blow bubbles
- soap bubble
- blow bubbles
- bubble wand
- bubble bursts
Grammar Patterns
blow a bubble
blow bubbles
a bubble bursts
Usage Note
Usually refers to the playful floating balls made with soap and water. Distinguish from sense 1: sense 1 can be inside liquid or glass, but this sense floats freely in the air.
3. a period when prices or success rise fast in a way that cannot continue and then
a period when prices or success rise fast in a way that cannot continue and then suddenly fails
Cheap loans fed a housing bubble across the whole coastal region.
housing bubble
Many traders ignored warnings while the tech bubble kept growing.
tech bubble
After the bubble burst, three shops on Main Street closed.
the bubble bursts
The minister said the export bubble could not last forever.
- housing bubble
- property bubble
- market bubble
- bubble bursts
Grammar Patterns
housing bubble
tech bubble
the bubble bursts
Usage Note
Most often used for markets, prices, investment, or a short-lived period of growth. Distinguish from sense 4: this sense is about a rise that collapses, not about only hearing views like your own.
Common Mistakes
4. a situation where someone mostly meets familiar people and keeps hearing ideas t
a situation where someone mostly meets familiar people and keeps hearing ideas that already match their own
Kai lives in an online bubble and rarely reads opposing views.
live in a bubble
The campus debate helped students step outside their political bubble.
step outside your bubble
Parents worried the app was building a bubble around teens.
build a bubble around [group]
Working abroad pulled Hana out of her usual social bubble.
- online bubble
- political bubble
- social bubble
- step outside your bubble
- echo chamber
more explicit about hearing the same opinions repeated back
- cocoon
suggests being protected or cut off, often with less focus on opinions
- silo
often used for groups that do not share information with others
- open exchange
involves contact with different people and views
Grammar Patterns
live in a bubble
step outside your bubble
social media bubble
Usage Note
Common in discussion of media, politics, and online life. Distinguish from sense 5: this sense is metaphorical and about limited experience or opinion, not an organised health-protection group.
Common Mistakes
5. a small set of people who stay close to one another but limit contact with every
a small set of people who stay close to one another but limit contact with everyone else, often to reduce infection
Our school bubble ate lunch together in the same classroom.
school bubble
The team formed a travel bubble before the tournament in Seoul.
travel bubble
Each nursery bubble had its own toys and bathroom.
After the fever spread, the hospital tightened every staff bubble.
staff bubble
- school bubble
- travel bubble
- staff bubble
- form a bubble
- general mixing
contact with many people outside one fixed group
Grammar Patterns
school bubble
travel bubble
form a bubble
Usage Note
Used mainly in public-health or travel rules. Distinguish from sense 4: here the group is planned to control contact, not a social or opinion world that happens naturally.
the bubble bursts
idiomA good or lucky situation suddenly ends.
The housing bubble burst in 2008, causing a global recession.
Did the tech bubble burst when investors lost confidence?
To destroy someone's hopes or happiness.
Mina didn't want to burst her friend's bubble about the trip.
Brian's boss burst his bubble by rejecting the project proposal.
bubble — verb
1. to send up small balls of air or gas through liquid, or to move in that way
to send up small balls of air or gas through liquid, or to move in that way
Milk bubbled over the pan while Yusuf answered the door.
bubble over
Mud bubbled beside the hot spring after the heavy rain.
The sauce began to bubble as Greta stirred the pot.
begin to bubble
At the shoreline, water bubbled through cracks in the black rock.
bubble through [surface]
- bubble gently
- bubble away
- bubble over
- begin to bubble
- go still
stop moving and forming bubbles
Grammar Patterns
begin to bubble
bubble over
bubble through [surface]
Usage Note
Most often used of liquid, mud, or water from the ground. 'Bubble over' often means the liquid rises too high and spills out of the container.
Common Mistakes
2. to be so full of lively feeling, talk, or activity that it seems ready to pour o
to be so full of lively feeling, talk, or activity that it seems ready to pour out
The twins bubbled with excitement on the morning of the trip.
bubble with [feeling]
Even after midnight, the square bubbled with music and laughter.
bubble with [activity]
Priya bubbled about the concert as soon as she got home.
bubble about [topic]
The class bubbled with new ideas during the science fair.
- bubble with excitement
- bubble with laughter
- bubble about the news
- bubble with ideas
- drag
feel slow, flat, or without energy
Grammar Patterns
bubble with [feeling/activity]
bubble about [topic]
Usage Note
Usually followed by 'with' plus a feeling or activity, or 'about' plus the thing someone talks about. Distinguish from sense 1: here the subject is people, places, or events full of energy, not liquid making air pockets.
Common Mistakes
3. to place people in small fixed groups that mostly mix only with one another, or
to place people in small fixed groups that mostly mix only with one another, or to stay in such a group
The daycare bubbled children by room during the winter virus outbreak.
bubble people by [group]
Children were bubbled in pairs for the bus ride home.
be bubbled in [group]
During camp, we bubbled with the same six families.
bubble with [people]
The summer camp bubbled campers by cabin after one child got sick.
- bubble students by class
- be bubbled in pairs
- bubble with one family
- bubble staff by team
- mix freely
have normal contact with many others
Grammar Patterns
bubble people by [group]
be bubbled in [group]
bubble with [people]
Usage Note
Common in public-health settings. Frequently passive when talking about how people were grouped, and often followed by 'with' when the subject stays inside one fixed contact set.
Common Mistakes
Word family
- bubblyadjectiveB2
- bubblynounC2
Synonym discussion
Sense: verb/1
For this sense, bubble is the broad everyday verb for liquid or mud sending up round pockets of air. Boil is stronger: it often suggests higher heat and more vigorous movement, so water can bubble before it fully boils. Fizz is common for drinks such as cola or soda water, where the bubbles are small, fast, and often noisy. Gurgle focuses more on the sound of liquid moving through a narrow space than on the bubbles themselves. Use bubble when the round air pockets are the main picture: The sauce began to bubble on the stove. Use fizz for sparkling drinks and gurgle for a sink, stream, or baby's throat medicine cup.
Etymology
Bubble is an old sound-based word in English. Middle English had forms such as bobel and bubble for a swelling drop of air in water. The word probably grew from an imitation of the soft popping or gurgling sound made by boiling liquid. From that physical image, English later extended bubble to soap balls, excited activity, and temporary social or economic worlds cut off from others.