dibbled

Verb

dibble (third-person singular simple present dibbles, present participle dibbling, simple past and past participle dibbled)

1. (transitive) To make holes or plant seeds using, or as if using, a dibble.
   • And as in winter, when the frost breaks up, / At winter's end, before the spring begins, / And a warm west wind blows, and thaw sets in— / After an hour a dripping sound is heard / In all the forests, and the soft-strewn snow / Under the trees is dibbled thick with holes, / And from the boughs the...1855, Matthew Arnold, “Balder Dead. An Episode. [3. Funeral.]”, in Poems. By Matthew Arnold. Second Series, London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC, page 58

   Synonyms:

   dib

2. (intransitive) To use a dibble; to make holes in the soil.
   • There is another method of ſowing wheat in rows uſed in ſome counties, which is termed dibbling in the language of agricultors, and consiſts in making perpendicular holes one inch and half or two inches deep, as is commonly done in planting potato-roots; theſe holes are made by a man, who has a...1800, Erasmus Darwin, “Section XVI.[2.2.] The Production of Seeds.”, in Phytologia; or the Philosophy of Agriculture and Gardening. With the Theory of Draining Morasses, and with an Improved...

   Synonyms:

   dib

3. (intransitive) To dib or dip frequently, as in angling.
   • And neere to them ye see the lesser dibling Teale1622, Michael Drayton, Poly-Olbion, song 25 p. 106

See all 7 meanings of dibble