noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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General-American:/ˈkɑbl̩ˌstoʊn/
Received-Pronunciation:/ˈkɒbl̩ˌstəʊn/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -əʊn
CMU ARPABET:K AA1 B AH0 L S T OW2 N
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A rounded stone from a river bed, fit for use as ballast in ships and for paving roads.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: cobble
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
Cobblestones viewed as a building or paving material.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable
Examples
The road was paved in cobblestone.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
rectangular paving stone with curved top; once used to make roads
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: cobble, sett
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: paving stone
4
verb
Meaning 4
pave with cobblestones
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: cobble
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: pave
History
Etymology
From Middle English cobylstone, cobyllstone, kobilstane, kobill-stane, equivalent to cobble + stone. Compare Old Norse köppusteinn (“boulder”), Danish kampesten (“boulder”).
Across languages
Translations
52 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Albanian:
lëmaqe
— a rounded stone
Aragonese:
tantonico
— a rounded stone
Aragonese:
bolo
— a rounded stone
Aragonese:
ruello
— a rounded stone
Basque:
galtzada-harri
— a rounded stone
Bulgarian:
объл камък
(obǎl kamǎk)
— a rounded stone
Catalan:
còdol
— a rounded stone
Catalan:
llamborda
— a rounded stone
Chinese Mandarin:
鵝卵石 /鹅卵石
(éluǎnshí)
— a rounded stone
Czech:
kočičí hlava
— a rounded stone
Danish:
brosten
— a rounded stone
Dutch:
keisteen
— a rounded stone
Dutch:
kassei
— a rounded stone
Dutch:
kasseisteen
— a rounded stone
Estonian:
munakivi
— a rounded stone
Finnish:
mukulakivi
— a rounded stone
French:
pavé
— a rounded stone
Georgian:
რიყის ქვა
(riq̇is kva)
— a rounded stone
