Adobe is a natural building material composed of sand, sandy clay and straw or other organic materials, which is shaped into bricks using wooden frames and dried in the sun. It is similar to cob and mudbrick. Adobe structures are extremely durable and account for the oldest extant buildings on the planet. Adobe buildings also offer significant advantages in hot, dry climates; they remain cooler as adobe stores and releases heat very slowly.

The word "adobe" is Spanish and comes from the Arabic "at-tub", the brick, and from the Coptic "tObe". The word may be pronounced or . Buildings made of sun-dried earth are common in the Middle East, North Africa, and in Spain (usually in the Mudejar style). The method of brickmaking was imported to the Americas in the 16th century by Spaniards.



A distinction is sometimes made between the smaller adobes, which are about the size of ordinary baked bricks, and the larger adobines, some of which are as much as from one to two yards long.

In more modern usage, the term "adobe" has come to mean a style of architecture that is popular in the desert climates of North America, especially in New Mexico. (Compare with stucco).