Meaning of bubble In English

• 0 a ball of gas that appears in a liquid, or a ball formed of air surrounded by liquid that floats in the air:

  • As water begins to boil, bubbles rise to the surface.

  • I love champagne - I think it's the bubbles that make it so good.

• 1 a temporary period of very successful economic performance in a particular country or sector, often followed by sudden failure:

  • Japan's economic bubble

  • the housing bubble

  • He made millions before the dotcom bubble burst.

• 2 a situation in which you only experience things that you expect or find easy to deal with, for example opinions you agree with, or people who are similar to you:

  • The candidate liked to talk to ordinary people to get a fix on what was happening outside his bubble.

  • On social media we all tend to live in our bubbles, where everyone feels the same way we do.

  • The plan was based on the principle of keeping school classes apart in separate bubbles.

  • UK The government said that people living alone could join up with one other household to create a support bubble.

• 3 to produce bubbles:

  • We could hear the soup bubbling away (= bubbling strongly) in the pot.

• 4 to have a lot of a particular quality, especially excitement or enthusiasm:

  • He was like a schoolboy, constantly bubbling with enthusiasm and new ideas.

• 5 to be in or put people into a group who have a lot of contact with each other but limited contact with people outside the group, for example as a way to avoid spreading disease:

  • Is it safe to bubble with my elderly parents during the pandemic?

  • A decision was taken to bubble the cast and crew.

• 6 a ball of air in a liquid or on its surface, or in the air:

  • When water begins to boil, small bubbles form around the edge of the pot.

• 7 to produce bubbles:

  • The water in the pot began to bubble.

  • fig. We were bubbling with excitement as we watched the Olympic flame being lit.

• 8 a temporary period when a lot of people invest in a stock, property, or a product that becomes much more expensive than its real value:

  • After the tech bubble burst, few investors were willing to put their money into developing companies.

• 9 a period of great success, which usually ends very suddenly:

  • Economists fear that the economic bubble will pop and lead to a new recession.