bubble
/ˈbʌbl/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈbʌbl/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈbə-bəl/ (ame, mw) · /ˈbʌb.əl/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈbʌb.əl/ (ame, ipa)
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.
文法句型
air bubble in [something]
bubbles rise to the surface
a bubble under [surface]
用法筆記
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.
常見錯誤
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.
文法句型
blow a bubble
blow bubbles
a bubble bursts
用法筆記
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 minister said the export bubble could not last forever.
文法句型
housing bubble
tech bubble
the bubble bursts
用法筆記
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.
常見錯誤
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.
Working abroad pulled Hana out of her usual social 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
文法句型
live in a bubble
step outside your bubble
social media bubble
用法筆記
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.
常見錯誤
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.
- general mixing
contact with many people outside one fixed group
文法句型
school bubble
travel bubble
form a bubble
用法筆記
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.
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.
At the shoreline, water bubbled through cracks in the black rock.
- go still
stop moving and forming bubbles
文法句型
begin to bubble
bubble over
bubble through [surface]
用法筆記
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.
常見錯誤
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.
The class bubbled with new ideas during the science fair.
- drag
feel slow, flat, or without energy
文法句型
bubble with [feeling/activity]
bubble about [topic]
用法筆記
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.
常見錯誤
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.
The summer camp bubbled campers by cabin after one child got sick.
- mix freely
have normal contact with many others
文法句型
bubble people by [group]
be bubbled in [group]
bubble with [people]
用法筆記
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.