bubble gum

Meanings

1. 1noununcountable

   A soft, sweet chewing gum that you can blow into bubbles.

   Grammar: Uncountable when talking about the substance: 'a piece of bubble gum', not 'a bubble gum'.

   Patterns

   • a piece of bubble gum
   • chew bubble gum
   • blow a bubble with bubble gum

   The child bought a pack of bubble gum at the corner store.

   She can blow really big bubbles with that bubble gum.

2. 2noununcountableinformal

   A bright pink color, like traditional bubble gum.

   Grammar: Used mainly before a noun: 'a bubble gum dress'.

   Patterns

   • bubble gum pink
   • a bubble gum color

   Her new phone case is bubble gum pink.

   They painted the walls a cheerful bubble gum color.

3. 3noununcountableinformalmusic

   A type of simple, catchy pop music aimed at young teenagers.

   Grammar: Often written as one word, 'bubblegum', in this sense.

   Patterns

   • bubble gum pop
   • bubblegum music

   That band started out playing bubble gum pop before they changed their style.

   The radio station plays nothing but bubblegum hits from the 90s.

Common combinations

chew bubble gum

He was chewing bubble gum during the whole exam.

blow a bubble

It takes practice to blow a bubble with bubble gum.

a pack of bubble gum

She bought a pack of bubble gum for her friends.

bubble gum pink

The bridesmaids wore bubble gum pink dresses.

bubble gum pop

The song is pure bubble gum pop, but it's catchy.

Synonyms and how they differ

chewing gum

The general term for any gum you chew; bubble gum is a softer, sweeter type made for blowing bubbles.

gum

A short, informal way to refer to chewing gum of any kind.

Word family

bubblegum noun

One-word spelling, often used for the color or music sense.

bubble noun

A ball of air or gas, like the ones you blow with bubble gum.

Commonly confused: bubble gum or bubblegum?

Practice

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