bubble

noun

• 1a thin sphere of liquid enclosing air or another gas.
• an air- or gas-filled spherical cavity in a liquid or a solidified liquid such as glass or amber.

• 2used to refer to a good or fortunate situation that is isolated from reality or unlikely to last:we both lived in a bubble, the kind provided by occupying a privileged pied-à-terre in Greenwich Village
• used to refer to a significant, usually rapid, increase in asset prices that is soon followed by a collapse in prices and typically arises from speculation or enthusiasm rather than intrinsic increases in value:the US economy squandered trillions as a result of the 1990s stock market bubble many companies enjoyed rapid expansion before the bubble burst

• 3a transparent domed cover or enclosure:piglets born into a sterile bubble
• a place or position that is protected from danger or unpleasant reality:they are not on tour packages seeing foreign ports from a bubble

• 4 (also bubble shell) a marine mollusk that typically has a thin scroll-like shell.

  • Bullidae and other families, order Cephalaspidea, class Gastropoda

verb

• (of a liquid) contain bubbles of air or gas rising to the surface:a pot of soup bubbled away on the stove
• (often as adjective bubbling) make a sound resembling this:a bubbling fountain
• (bubble with or over with) (of a person) be exuberantly filled with an irrepressible positive feeling:Ellen was bubbling with such enthusiasm
• (bubble up) (especially of a negative feeling) become more intense and approach the point of being vehemently expressed:the fury bubbling up inside her