Noun
Any of several children's games played with small balls (made of marble or more commonly glass).
Usage- plural
- Plural only
- Examples
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Egyptian boys played marbles before the days of Moses.
Sanity.
Usage- Figurative
- plural
- Plural only
- Synonyms
- Examples
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Grandpa's lost his marbles, but at least he still recognizes us.
Granny's still got all her marbles.
More examples (4)
His lack of marbles is becoming ever more apparent.
“A nice imbroglio you've landed me in. Thanks to you ...” “Yes, sir.” “Don't say ‘Yes, sir.’ Thanks to you I have been widely publicized as off my rocker.” “Not widely, sir. Merely to your immediate circle now resident at Brinkley Court.” “You have held me up at the bar of world opinion as a man who has not got all his marbles.” “It was not easy to think of an alternative scheme, sir.”
There are times when you are certain that the person speaking to you has completely misplaced his marbles. As I leaned away in reaction I felt confident […] Ed had lost his.
—Her daddy's crazy. […] Think she's looking for something? —Treasure, I expect. That or maybe her daddy's marbles.
Bits of rolled-up rubber shed by the tires of race cars that accumulate at the edges of the track, especially at the corners.
Usage- plural
- Plural only
- Examples
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Some corners are littered with marbles, off the racing line.
Noun
a children's game played with little balls made of a hard substance (as glass)
- Broader terms
the basic human power of intelligent thought and perception
- Synonyms
- Broader terms
- Examples
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he used his wits to get ahead
I was scared out of my wits
More examples (1)
he still had all his marbles and was in full possession of a lively mind