cobbling

From the verb cobble: (⇒ conjugate)

cobbling is: ⓘ

v pres p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

cob•ble¹ /ˈkɑbəl/   v. [~ + object] , -bled, -bling. 

1. to mend (shoes, etc.);
   patch:
   He cobbled shoes for a living.
2. to put together roughly or clumsily:
   [~ (+ together)] They cobbled (together) a temporary agreement.

cob•ble² /ˈkɑbəl/   n., v., -bled, -bling. 
n. [countable]

1. Rocks a cobblestone.

v. [~ + object]

2. to pave with cobblestones:
   The streets were cobbled with bricks.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

cob•ble¹  (kob′əl), v.t. -bled, -bling. 

1. to mend (shoes, boots, etc.);
   patch.
2. to put together roughly or clumsily.

• apparently back formation from cobbler 1490–1500

cob•ble²  (kob′əl), n., v., -bled, -bling. 
n. 

1. Rocks a cobblestone.
2. Mining cobbles, coal in lumps larger than a pebble and smaller than a boulder.
3. Metallurgy
   • a defect in a rolled piece resulting from loss of control over its movement.
   • Slang Terms a piece showing bad workmanship.

v.t. 

4. to pave with cobblestones.

• 1595–1605; perh. cob + -le; see cobblestone

cob•ble³  (kob′əl), n. 

1. Dialect Terms [New England, New York, and New Jersey.] (esp. in placenames) a rounded hill.

• cobble²
• perh. 1885-95

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

cobble / ˈkɒb^əl/ noun

1. short for cobblestone

verb

1. (transitive) to pave (a road) with cobblestones

Etymology: 15th Century (in cobblestone): from cob¹

cobble / ˈkɒb^əl/ verb (transitive)

1. to make or mend (shoes)
2. to put together clumsily

Etymology: 15th Century: back formation from cobbler¹