Meaning & use
pebbles
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“pebbles” is a form of “pebble”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
nounplural
Small, smooth, rounded stones, usually worn by water, found on beaches and in riverbeds.
Grammar: Plural countable noun: collect pebbles; singular is a pebble.
Patterns
- pebbles on something
- a handful of pebbles
The children collected pebbles along the shore.
Water ran over the pebbles in the stream.
We walked slowly on the beach, pebbles clicking under our shoes.
nounplural
Small stones used decoratively or for covering paths and garden beds.
Grammar: Often used with a quantity: a bag of pebbles.
Patterns
- cover something with pebbles
- a bag of pebbles
He spread white pebbles around the plants.
The path was lined with grey pebbles.
A bowl of pebbles sat in the center of the table.
Word forms
| singular | pebble |
|---|
Common combinations
- smooth pebbles
- She kept a few smooth pebbles from the trip.
- skip pebbles
- We skipped pebbles across the pond.
- pebbles on the beach
- Pebbles on the beach hurt our bare feet.
- a handful of pebbles
- He threw a handful of pebbles at the window.
- colored pebbles
- Colored pebbles filled the bottom of the fish tank.
Synonyms and how they differ
- stones
- Stones can be any size, whereas pebbles are small and usually rounded.
- gravel
- Gravel is a mass of small angular stones, while pebbles are individually smooth.
- shingle
- Shingle is the British word for a beach covered in pebbles.
Opposites
Word family
- pebble noun
- one small rounded stone
- pebbly adjective
- covered with pebbles
- pebble-dash noun
- a wall covering of small stones set in plaster (British)
Commonly confused: pebbles or peddles?
pebbles vs peddles
Peddles means sells goods, usually from place to place, and is not related to stones.
Practice
The beach had no sand at all; it was covered in round ______.
Choose one answer.
Round stones on a beach are pebbles. Petals and puddles are not stones, and pedals belong to bikes.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “pebbles”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.