Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Pebble |
PebbleNoun1. A small smooth rounded rock. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "pebble" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1592. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Computing | Pebble A polymorphic language. ["A Kernel Language for Abstract Data Types and Modules", R.M. Burstall & B. Lampson, in Semantics of Data Types, LNCS 173, Springer 1984]. (1995-01-26). Source: The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing. |
Geological | Loose particles of rock or mineral (sediment) that range in size from 2 - 64 millimeters in diameter. Pebbles are the smallest type of gravel. (references) |
Mining | A. A general term for a small, roundish, esp. waterworn stone; specif. a rock fragment larger than a granule and smaller than a cobble, having a diameter in the range of 4 to 64 mm (-2 to -6 phi units, or a size between that of a small pea and that of a tennis ball), being somewhat rounded or otherwise modified by abrasion in the course of transport. In Great Britain, the range of 10 to 50 mm has been used. The term has been used to include fragments of cobble size; it is frequently used in the plural as a syn. of "gravel". Syn:pebblestone b. Transparent and colorless quartz crystal, such as Brazilian pebble c. Grinding media for ball or semi-autogeneous mills. As a rule, these areeither hard-flint pebbles or hard-burned, white porcelain balls. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
A pebble is a rock with a size of 4-75 millimeters (some say 64 millimeters).
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Pebble."
| The following table is compiled from various sources, across various languages. When English abbreviations or acronyms come from a non-English source, this is noted. | |||
| Entry | Source | Expression | Field |
PEBBLE | English | Probes encapsulated by biologically localized embedding | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |||
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Hardness | Stone, pebble, flint, marble, rock, fossil, crag, crystal, quartz, granite, adamant; bone, cartilage; hardware; heart of oak, block, board, deal board; iron, steel; cast iron, decarbonized iron, wrought iron; nail; brick, concrete; cement. |
Littleness | Animalcule, monad, mite, insect, emmet, fly, midge, gnat, shrimp, minnow, worm, maggot, entozoon; bacteria; infusoria; microzoa; phytozoaria; microbe; grub; tomtit, runt, mouse, small fry; millet seed, mustard seed; barleycorn; pebble, grain of sand; molehill, button, bubble. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Pebble |
| English words defined with "pebble": Brazilian pebble ♦ Calyon ♦ Dibstone ♦ Fortification agate ♦ Gravel powder, Gravel-stone ♦ Oculiform ♦ Pebbled, Pebblestone, Pebbling ♦ Scotch pebble, Sycite. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "pebble": ABRASIVE GRADER, ABRASIVE-GRADER HELPER, agglomerate belt flotation, agglomerate screening, Aulay ♦ Chinaman pebble, CRUSHER OPERATOR ♦ derived fossil ♦ faceted boulder, faceted pebble, fine grinding ♦ jar mill ♦ river pebble ♦ Stone, Stones ♦ wad coil. (references) |
| Etymologies containing "pebble": Scree. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | You won't believe it, everything is useful this pebble for instance (Strada, La; writing credit: Federico Fellini; Ennio Flaiano) It is said that if you move a single pebble on the beach, you set up a different pattern, and everything in the world is changed (The Outer Limits; writing credit: Harlan Ellison) Quickly as you can, snatch the pebble from my hand (Kung Fu; writing credit: Howard Friedlander; Bruce Lee) Even if you use the power of that manslayer for a self-sacrificing purpose such as protecting those you love or the weak, it's still only one tiny pebble in the never-ending river of time (Rurouni Kenshin; writing credit: Johan Unenge; Måns Gahrton) | |
Lyrics | Sitting on a pebble by the river playing guitar (Valotte; performing artist: Julian Lennon) | |
Movie/TV Titles | To Catch a Pebble (1970) Pebble Mill at One (1980) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
Books | |||
Theater & Movies | |||
Music |
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High Tech |
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Consumer Goods | |||
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | A pebble and sand beach near the port of Galilee. Credit: America's Coastlines. |  | Pebble Beach on 700 Acre Island. This beach has been formed from glacial material while the Philbrook Cove Beach, right around the corner, was formed from erosion of slate. Credit: America's Coastlines. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
 |
| "Family 1" by Li Enxin Commentary: "Pebble beach at brighton, UK." |
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers. |
| Author | Quotation |
Blaise Pascal | The least movement is of importance to all nature. The entire ocean is affected by a pebble. |
Henry Ward Beecher | A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs-jolted by every pebble in the road. |
Joseph Roux | A fine quotation is a diamond in the hand of a man of wit and a pebble in the hand of a fool. |
Mutual Moments | Next time the road looks rough to you; see if it isn't just a pebble that got between you and the road. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Author | Date | Quotation |
John Locke | 1690 | Again, if he would give his nuts for a piece of metal, pleased with its colour; or exchange his sheep for shells, or wool for a sparkling pebble or a diamond, and keep those by him all his life he invaded not the right of others, he might heap up as much of these durable things as he pleased; the exceeding of the bounds of his just property not lying in the largeness of his possession, but the perishing of any thing uselesly in it. (Second Treatise of Government) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Title | Author | Quote |
Scarlet Letter | Hawthorne, Nathaniel | One little grey bird, with a white breast, Pearl was almost sure, had been hit by a pebble, and fluttered away with a broken wing |
Les Miserables | Hugo, Victor | It makes a bullet of a pebble, and a general of a street porter |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Business | PECO is the second international partner that Eskom has secured for its Pebble Bed Project. (references) | |
Eskom has recently announced the development of its Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) Project. (references) | ||
Economic History | Zimbabwe | Archaeologists have found stone-age implements and pebble tools in several areas of Zimbabwe, a suggestion of human habitation for many centuries, and the ruins of stone buildings provide evidence of early civilization. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| "Pebble" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 80.46% of the time. "Pebble" is used about 174 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 80.46% | 140 | 26,789 |
| Noun (proper) | 19.54% | 34 | 59,261 |
| Total | 100.00% | 174 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expressions using "pebble": Brazilian pebble ♦ brilliant pebble ♦ pebble beach ♦ pebble dash ♦ pebble plant ♦ pebble powder ♦ scotch pebble. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "pebble": pebble-chafing, pebble-dash, pebble-dashed, pebble-eyed, pebble-filled, pebble-floor, pebble-paved, pebble-picking, pebble-shaped, pebble-stone, pebble-studded. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "pebble"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Albanian | suva e ashpër, shtroj rrugën me gur kalldrëmi, haliç, guriçkë (Flint, grit), guralec (stone), gur zalli (grit, grit stone, pebble-stone), ashpëroj lëkurën. (various references) | |
Arabic | حصى (grit, shingle, stone), حصاة ملساء, حصاة (scree), حصب (gravel). (various references) | |
Bulgarian | речно камъче (pebblestone), шагренирана кожа, шагренирам, камъче, вид ахат, морско камъче (pebblestone), замервам с камъчета, леща от прозрачен кварц, прозрачен кварц (rock crystal), постилам с камъчета. (various references) | |
Chinese | 鵝卵石 (cobblestone), 小卵石. (various references) | |
Czech | oblázek (pebblestone, rubble). (various references) | |
Danish | strandsten (boulder, cobble), smaasten (broken stone, rubble), småsten (boulder, cobble), rullesten (boulder, cobble, shingle), flintesten, flintemalelegeme. (various references) | |
Dutch | silex maalsteen, keiste, kei (boulder). (various references) | |
Farsi | نقش ونگارریگی دادن به(چرمسازی), نوعی عقیق , سنگریزه (Gravel, Grit, Slither), ریگ (Gravel, Grit, Sand), شیشه عینک (Optic), باسنگریزه فرش کردن , باریگ حمله کردن . (various references) | |
Finnish | pieni sileä kivi (boulder, cobble), vierinkivi (boulder), siirtolohkare (boulder, cobble, erratic, erratic block, erratic boulder, glacial erratic, stray block), mukulakivi (cobblestone), iso vierinkivi (boulder, cobble). (various references) | |
French | galet, caillou. (various references) | |
German | Kieselstein (flint, gravel), kiesel (flint, gravel, shingle, silicic). (various references) | |
Greek | χαλίκι (gravel, grit, rubble). (various references) | |
Hebrew | צדפת, צרור אבן (chip). (various references) | |
Hungarian | kavics (ballast, gravel, grit cell, pebble stone, scree), hegyikristály (bristol stone, crystal, rhinestone, rock crystal). (various references) | |
Indonesian | batu koral. (various references) | |
Italian | sassolino, sasso (draught, shale, stone), sassi per mulino, ciottolo di silice, ciottolo (cobble, cobblestone, silicic, stone), ciòttolo. (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 玉石 (gems and stones, wheat and tares), 石ころ (rock, stone), 石塊 (rock, stone), 小石 , 小石 . (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | たまいし, せっかい (caustic lime, clearing, cutting through, lime, opening up, quicklime, rock, stone, untimely interference), いしくれ (rock, stone), いしころ (rock, stone), こいし. (various references) | |
Korean | 자갈 (gravel). (various references) | |
Manx | mynchlagh (crushed stone), clagh scailley. (various references) | |
Pig Latin | ebblepay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | seixo (boulder, bowlder, jack-stone, pebble-stone), calhau (jack-stone, pebble-stone, stone). (various references) | |
Romanian | prundiş (beach, grit, shingle), pietricicã rotundã, cristal de stâncã, cremene (Flint, silex), bolovan de piatrã rotunjit. (various references) | |
Russian | галька (beach, boulder, jack-stone, pebble-stone, rubbish, shingle). (various references) | |
Scottish | grìogag (bead), cneap (a button, bead, button). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | oblutak (boulder, bowlder, pebblestone), hrapaviti kožu, biljur, bacati oblutke, šljunak (boulder, gravel, grit). (various references) | |
Spanish | guijarro (cobble, cobblestone, scree). (various references) | |
Swedish | sten (calculus, concretion, rock, stone), kiselsten (Flint, pebble-stone). (various references) | |
Turkish | necef taşı (crystallized quartz, rock crystal), çakıltaşı, çakılla kaplamak, çakıl dökmek (gravel), çakıl (ballast, gravel, hard core, rubble, shingle). (various references) | |
Ukrainian | галька (boulder, shingle), лінза з гірського кришталю. (various references) | |
Vietnamese | thấu kính bằng thạch anh mã não trong, đá cuội (pebblestone). (various references) | |
Welsh | caregan (stone). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Sumerian | 3100 BCE-2500 BCE | 2. na, ia. (various references) |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | calculo, calculus, lapilli, lapillus. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "pebble": pebbled, pebbles. (additional references) | |
| |
"Pebble" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Ebble, eble, febble, pable, Pemble, Preble, Pueble. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "pebble" (pronounced pe"bul) |
| 4 | -e" b u l | rebel, treble. |
| 3 | -b u l | incurable, indefatigable, indefensible, indefinable, indelible, indescribable, indestructible, indispensable, indisputable, indistinguishable, indivisible, indomitable, inedible, ineffable, ineligible, inequitable, inescapable, inevitable, inexcusable, inexhaustible, inexorable, inexplicable, infallible, infeasible, inflammable, inflatable, acceptable, accessible, able, abominable, accountable, achievable, actionable, adaptable, addressable, adjustable, admirable, admissible, adoptable, adorable, advisable, affable, affordable, agreeable, allowable, amble, amenable, amendable, amiable, amicable, analyzable, answerable, appealable, applicable, appreciable, approachable, approvable, arable, arguable, assemble, attainable, attributable, audible, available, avoidable, babble, Babel, bankable, bauble, bearable, believable, bible, billable, biodegradable, bramble, breakable, bubble, buildable, Bumble, burnable, cable, callable, cannibal, capable, changeable, chargeable, charitable, classifiable, cobble, coble, collapsible, collectible, Combinable, comfortable, commendable, communicable, comparable, compatible, compensable, comprehensible, conceivable, confirmable, considerable, constable, consumable, contemptible, contestable, controllable, convertible, copyrightable, corbel, countable, credible, creditable, crucible, crumble, culpable, curable, cymbal, dabble, debatable, deductible, defensible, definable, degradable, delectable, deliverable, demonstrable, dependable, deplorable, deployable, depreciable, describable, desirable, despicable, detachable, detectable, determinable, developable, Dibble, digestible, disable, disagreeable, disassemble, discernible, discountable, discoverable, dishonorable, dispensable, disposable, disreputable, dissemble, distinguishable, divisible, doable, double, Drabble, dribble, drinkable, drivable, durable, eatable, edible, electable, eligible, Embraceable, employable, enable, enfeeble, enforceable, enjoyable, ennoble, ensemble, enviable, equable, equitable, erasable, erodible, estimable, exchangeable, excitable, excludable, excusable, execrable, exercisable, expandable, expendable, explainable, exportable, extendable, extendible, fable, fallible, fashionable, fathomable, favorable, feasible, feeble, fissionable, fixable, flammable, flexible, foible, forcible, foreseeable, forfeitable, forgettable, forgivable, formidable, fumble, fungible, fusible, gable, gamble, Garble, global, gobble, Gribble, grumble, gullible, habitable, hardscrabble, harvestable, herbal, heritable, hobble, hon, honorable, horrible, hospitable, humble, identifiable, ignoble, illegible, imaginable, imitable, immeasurable, immiscible, immobile, immovable, immutable, impassable, impeachable, impeccable, impenetrable, imperceptible, impermissible, implacable, implantable, implausible, imponderable, impossible, impracticable, impregnable, impressionable, improbable, inaccessible, inadmissible, inadvisable, inalienable, inapplicable, inaudible, incalculable, incapable, incomparable, incompatible, incomprehensible, incompressible, inconceivable, incontrovertible, incorrigible, incredible, soluble, solvable, spendable, squabble, Stabile, stable, stubble, stumble, submersible, suggestible, suitable, supportable, survivable, susceptible, sustainable, syllable, symbol, table, talkable, tangible, taxable, teachable, tenable, terrible, inflexible, inheritable, inhospitable, inimitable, injectable, innumerable, inoperable, insatiable, inscrutable, inseparable, insoluble, insufferable, insupportable, insurmountable, intangible, intelligible, interchangeable, interminable, interruptible, intertribal, intolerable, intractable, invaluable, investable, invincible, inviolable, invisible, invulnerable, irascible, irreconcilable, irrefutable, irremediable, irreparable, irreplaceable, irrepressible, irresistible, irresponsible, irreversible, irrevocable, irritable, issuable, jumble, justifiable, kibble, knowledgeable, label, lamentable, laudable, laughable, leasable, legible, liable, libel, likable, likeable, livable, lovable, malleable, manageable, mandible, maneuverable, marble, marketable, measurable, memorable, microwavable, miscible, miserable, mislabel, mobile, moldable, movable, mumble, navigable, negligible, negotiable, nibble, nimble, noble, noncallable, nonconvertible, nondeductible, nondurable, nonrefundable, nonrenewable, nontaxable, nontransferable, nonverbal, notable, noticeable, objectionable, observable, obtainable, operable, ostensible, palatable, palpable, parable, passable, patentable, payable, peaceable, perceptible, perishable, permeable, permissible, personable, persuadable, pitiable, plausible, pleasurable, pliable, portable, possible, potable, practicable, preamble, predictable, preferable, presentable, preventable, printable, probable, profitable, programmable, prosecutable, provable, psychobabble, punishable, questionable, quibble, quotable, rabble, ramble, reachable, readable, realizable, reasonable, reassemble, receivable, rechargeable, recognizable, recordable, recoverable, recyclable, redeemable, redouble, redoubtable, reducible, refundable, regrettable, relabel, reliable, remarkable, removable, renewable, rentable, repairable, repayable, repeatable, replaceable, reportable, reprehensible, reputable, resealable, resemble, resettable, respectable, responsible, retractable, returnable, reusable, reversible, revocable, ridable, Roble, rouble, roundtable, rubble, Ruble, rumble, sable, salable, saleable, salvageable, Scrabble, scramble, scribble, seasonable, sensible, serviceable, shamble, Sibyl, sizable, sizeable, sociable, thimble, timetable, tolerable, traceable, tractable, tradable, tradeable, trainable, transferable, transferrable, transmittable, transportable, treatable, tremble, tribal, trouble, tubal, tumble, tunable, turntable, typeable, umbel, unable, unacceptable, unaccountable, unaffordable, unalienable, unalterable, unanswerable, unassailable, unattainable, unavailable, unavoidable, unbearable, unbeatable, unbelievable, unbuildable, uncollectible, uncomfortable, unconscionable, uncontrollable, undeniable, understandable, undesirable, undetectable, unelectable, unemployable, unenforceable, unenviable, unexplainable, unfashionable, unfathomable, unfavorable, unfeasible, unflappable, unforeseeable, unforgettable, unforgivable, ungovernable, unimaginable, unimpeachable, uninhabitable, uninsurable, unintelligible, unjustifiable, unknowable, unlivable, unmanageable, unmentionable, unmistakable, unobtainable, unpalatable, unpredictable, unprintable, unprofitable, unquestionable, unreachable, unreadable, unreasonable, unrecognizable, unreliable, unremarkable, unsalable, unscramble, unserviceable, unshakable, unsinkable, unsolvable, unspeakable, unstable, unstoppable, unsuitable, unsupportable, unsustainable, untenable, unthinkable, untouchable, untraceable, unusable, unverifiable, unwinnable, unworkable, usable, valuable, variable, vegetable, venerable, verbal, verifiable, veritable, viable, visible, voluble, vulnerable, wamble, washable, wearable, winnable, wobble, workable. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "b-b-e-e-l-p" | |
-1 letter: bleep, plebe. | |
-2 letters: beep, bleb, peel, pele, pleb. | |
-3 letters: bee, bel, ebb, eel, lee, pee. | |
-4 letters: be, el, pe. | |
| Words containing the letters "b-b-e-e-l-p" | |
+1 letter: pebbled, pebbles. | |
+2 letters: pebblier. | |
+3 letters: pebbliest. | |
+5 letters: perturbable. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Crosswords 3. Usage: Modern 4. Usage: Commercial | 5. Images: Slideshow 6. Images: Photo Album 7. Images: Digital Art 8. Quotations: Familiar | 9. Quotations: Historic 10. Quotations: Fiction 11. Quotations: Non-fiction 12. Usage Frequency | 13. Expressions 14. Expressions: Internet 15. Translations: Modern 16. Translations: Ancient | 17. Abbreviations 18. Acronyms 19. Derivations 20. Rhymes | 21. Anagrams 22. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
