I. ˈbəbəl verb
( bubbled ; bubbled ; bubbling ˈbəb(ə)liŋ ; bubbles )
Etymology: Middle English bublen, bobelen, probably of imitative origin like Dutch bobbelen to bubble, Middle Low German bubbeln, Lithuanian bubsėti
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to form or produce bubbles
soup bubbling in the kettle
b. : to move upward or rise in or as if in bubbles
gases bubbling from the mud
— often used with up
cool water bubbling up from the ground
these questions bubble up from time to time
2. : to flow out or pour out with a gurgling sound suggesting the forming and rising of bubbles
a clear fountain bubbling in the shade
3. : to suggest bubbling water:
a. : to make gurgling or warbling sounds
a nightingale softly bubbling in the shrubbery
her carefree laughter bubbled behind us
b. : to utter as though giving off bubbles either with sparkle and effervescence
songs that bubble with wit and grace
or with persistent monotonous repetition
they bubble of Marx or Disraeli to their dying day — Times Literary Supplement
c. : to be or become lively or effervescent (as with joy) : bubble over
he looked like a good soldier and bubbled with natural joyousness — Alan Sullivan
d. Scotland : blubber , snivel
e. : to be in agitated movement or activity : rise into consciousness usually unexpectedly : churn , stir — used chiefly of intangibles
such contacts soon set his brain to bubbling with new ideas
transitive verb
1. : to utter (as words) bubblingly : express in bubbles or as if in giving off bubbles
she bubbled questions — R.A.W.Hughes
dozens of birds bubbling their joy to the clearing sky
2.
a. : to cause to bubble
bubble cocoa and sugar together in a little water — Better Homes & Gardens
b. : burp
3. archaic : cheat , deceive , delude
4. : to pass (as gas) through some medium in the form of discrete bubbles
II. noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
1. : a small globule typically hollow and light: as
a. : a small body of air or gas within a liquid
bubbles rising in champagne
b. : a thin film of liquid inflated with air or gas
soap bubbles
c. : a hollow globule of blown glass (as a small floating bead formerly used for testing the strength of spirits)
d. : a globule (as of air) in a transparent solid
windowpanes marred with bubbles and wavy patches
broadly : such globules constituting an imperfection in glass and resulting from the trapping of air or gas during the melting process
e. : the globule of air in the tube of a spirit level ; sometimes : the tube and its contents
f. : bubble shell
g. Scotland : mucus from the nose
h. : bubble canopy
2.
a. : something that lacks firmness, solidity, or reality : a false show
a dream of what thou wast … a breath, a bubble — Shakespeare
b. : a delusive scheme : a dishonest speculation
the South sea bubble
3. archaic : one readily deceived or tricked : dupe , gull
4.
a. : a bubbling as of boiling or flowing water
we'll not be long, the kettle's just at the bubble
b. : a sound like that of bubbling : a gurgling or warbling song
the cadenced bubble of certain bird songs
III. noun
1. : something (as a plastic or an inflatable structure) that is more or less semicylindrical or dome-shaped
2. : balloon 2d
3. : magnetic bubble herein
•
- on the bubble