bubble

A spherically contained volume of air or other gas in a liquid, commonly a soapy liquid.

A small spherical cavity in a solid material.

• bubbles in window glass, or in a lens

Anything resembling a hollow sphere.broadly

Anything lacking firmness or solidity; a cheat or fraud; an empty project.figuratively

• Then a soldier […] / Seeking the bubble reputation / Even in the cannon's mouth

A period of intense speculation in a market, causing prices to rise quickly to irrational levels as the metaphorical bubble expands, and then fall even more quickly as the bubble bursts.

• real estate bubble
• dot-com bubble

The emotional or physical atmosphere in which a subject is immersed; especially, a homogeneous atmosphere in which subjects are spared exposure to culture or ideas different from their own.figuratively

• Thomas, so often West Brom's most positive attacker down their left side and up against Salgado, twice almost burst the bubble of excitement around the ground but he had two efforts superbly saved by Robinson.
• He’s wrapped up snugly in a cozy bubble of self-regard, talking for his own sake more than anyone else’s.

An officer's station in a prison dormitory, affording views on all sides.

• Later that day, the unit was staffed with only one officer, who was required to stay in the bubble.

Someone who has been ‘bubbled’ or fooled; a dupe.obsolete

• Gany's a cheat, and I'm a bubble.
• For no woman, sure, will plead the passion of love for an excuse. This would be to own herself the mere tool and bubble of the man.

A small, hollow, floating bead or globe, formerly used for testing the strength of spirits.

The globule of air in the chamber of a spirit level.

To produce bubbles, to rise up in bubbles (such as in foods cooking or liquids boiling).intransitive

• The laminate is bubbling.

To churn or foment, as if wishing to rise to the surface.figurativelyintransitive

• Rage bubbled inside him.

To rise through a medium or system, similar to the way that bubbles rise in liquid.figurativelyintransitive

• The target of this event is the most deeply nested common ancestor of all changes that occurred in the document, and it bubbles up the document tree […]

To cover or spread with bubblesobsoleteraretransitive

To delude, dupe, or hoodwink; to cheat.archaicraretransitive

• No, no, friend, I shall never be bubbled out of my religion in hopes only of keeping my place under another government […]
• He tells me with great passion that she has bubbled him out of his youth; that she drilled him on to five and fifty [years old], and that he verily believes she will drop him in his old age, if she can find her account in another.

To cry, weep.Northern-EnglandScotlandintransitive

To pat a baby on the back so as to cause it to belch.transitive

• Groggily her mind went back through the long hours to 10 P.M. She had fed Junior, bubbled him, diped him—according to plan.
• Mother sat up, picked up baby, put him on shoulder, bubbled him.

To cause to feel as if bubbling or churning.transitive

• A few minutes more would give him his first glimpse of the village wherein, many months before, he had left his wife and little ones. Anticipation bubbled him into song, and he broke forth into—A la claire fontaine M’en allant promener.
• The frothing sensation bubbled him all over, a boiling without heat or any sound or light.

To express in a bubbly or lively manner.transitive

• Mrs. Hinds beamed at Ipsie through pince-nez and bubbled her joy through thin lips, but Ipsie made no reply.
• Delighted with this promenade, little Edith bubbled her joy without cessation.

To form into a protruding round shape.transitive

• She bubbled her lips at Junior and wrinkled her eyes.
• She hasn’t bubbled her lips yet, has she?