Definition

1. Noun:

   • A hollow sphere of liquid enclosing air or another gas: A thin, usually spherical film of liquid, especially water or soapy water, filled with air or gas.
   • An unrealistic or illusory idea or scheme: A fragile, insubstantial, or deceptive concept, plan, or economic situation that is bound to collapse.
   • A transparent, dome-shaped cover: A dome, often made of glass or plastic, used as a protective covering.

2. Verb:

   • To form or produce bubbles: To rise in or as if in bubbles; to make a gurgling sound as gas moves through a liquid.
   • To be very active with a particular quality: To be full of and express a particular emotion, energy, or liveliness.
   • To flow with a gurgling sound: To make a continuous, irregular, bubbling sound as a liquid flows.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • The child blew a perfect soap bubble.
  • The tech stock bubble burst in the early 2000s.
  • The plant was kept under a glass bubble.

• Verb:

  • The water began to bubble as it boiled.
  • She was bubbling with excitement about her trip.
  • A small stream bubbled over the rocks.

Advanced Usage

• "to burst someone's bubble": To disillusion someone by destroying their pleasant but false belief or expectation.

  • I hate to burst your bubble, but that rumor isn't true.

• "to bubble over": To be so full of an emotion (like joy or anger) that it is expressed openly and energetically.

  • Her enthusiasm bubbled over during the presentation.

• "to bubble up": To emerge or become apparent, often of emotions, ideas, or problems.

  • Old memories began to bubble up to the surface.

Variants and Related Words

• Bubbly (adj): Full of cheerful high spirits; resembling bubbles.

  • She has a wonderfully bubbly personality.

• Bubble bath (n): A bath in which the water contains a foaming additive that produces bubbles.

Synonyms

• Noun: Globule, blister, vesicle, illusion, fantasy.
• Verb: Fizz, effervesce, gurgle, percolate, seethe.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Bubble under: To be just below the surface of becoming popular or well-known (often used in contexts like music charts).
  • That song has been bubbling under the Top 10 for weeks.

Related Idioms

• A house of cards / On the bubble: In a precarious or uncertain position, likely to fail or change.

  • With sales falling, the company's future is on the bubble.

• Live in a bubble: To be isolated from the realities or problems of ordinary life.

  • Some politicians are accused of living in a bubble.

Noun

1. a dome-shaped covering made of transparent glass or plastic
2. an impracticable and illusory idea
   • he didn't want to burst the newcomer's bubble
3. a speculative scheme that depends on unstable factors that the planner cannot control
   • his proposal was nothing but a house of cards
   • a real estate bubble
4. a hollow globule of gas (e.g., air or carbon dioxide)

Verb

1. expel gas from the stomach
   • In China it is polite to burp at the table
2. cause to form bubbles
   • bubble gas through a liquid
3. rise in bubbles or as if in bubbles
   • bubble to the surface
4. flow in an irregular current with a bubbling noise
   • babbling brooks
5. form, produce, or emit bubbles
   • The soup was bubbling