dribble
UK/ˈdɹɪ.bəl//ˈdɹɪ.bɫ̩/
dribble verb: in various ball games, to move (with) the ball, controlling its path by kicking or bouncing it repeatedly.
Verb
dribble (third-person singular simple present dribbles, present participle dribbling, simple past and past participle dribbled)
- In various ball games, to move (with) the ball, controlling its path by kicking or bouncing it repeatedly.
- To let saliva drip from the mouth; to drool.
- The baby dribbled onto its bib.
- To fall in drops or an unsteady stream; to trickle.
- To move or roll slowly or in small quantities.
- The last formal word of compliment was spoken and the audience dribbled away with a sense of having performed a duty only slightly less meritorious than that of going to church.1927, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], Max Carrados Mysteries
- Denny slid over a couple of steps and swung feebly at it. The ball hit the wooden frame of his racket and dribbled into the net.1952, Charles Coombs, Young Readers Sports Treasury, page 14
- To let something fall in drips.
- let her [the cook] follow him softly with a ladle full, and dribble it all the way up stairs to the dining-room1731 (date written; published 1745), [Jonathan] Swift, Directions to Servants […], London: […] R[obert] Dodsley, […], and M. Cooper, […], →OCLC
- To live or pass one's time in a trivial fashion.
- To perform a card flourish in which the cards fall smoothly from one's hand.
Noun
dribble (countable and uncountable, plural dribbles)
- Drool; saliva.
- Rubbish; worthless matter.
- Your pieces are amateur at best—at worst they are a commercial hoax—something you’d find at Kmart for the kids to take back to their dorms. Frankly, I’m shocked you would waste my time with this dribble. You are no artist, my dear.2006, Mary Carter, chapter 27, in She’ll Take It, New York, N.Y.: Kensington Books, →ISBN, page 231
- “Are these mangers also called ‘Labor Camps’? Those baby production lines Hitler set up to produce a race of pure bloods.” / “No,” said Ute, openly irritated at the remark. She looked over at Captain Browder, saying with her eyes, “Do we have to keep on with this dribble?” / Browder broke in...2007, Paul F. F. Hood with Carra Leah Hood, chapter 15, in Tomorrow, Soldier, part 3 (Himmler’s Gas Station), Bloomington, Ind.; Central Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire: AuthorHouse, →ISBN, page 244
- A weak, unsteady stream; a trickle.
- A small amount of a liquid.
- The act of moving (with) a ball by kicking or bouncing it.
- A card flourish in which the cards fall smoothly from one's hand.
dribble meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali
dribble in Hindi
- to dribble
- टपकना ṭapaknā
dribble in Tamil
- to let saliva drip from the mouth
- ஜொள்ளு விடு joḷḷu viṭu
dribble in Urdu
- بہنا, قطرہ قطرہ ٹپکنا, بانٹنا, ٹپکانا
dribble in Bengali
- ড্রিবল করা, ড্রিবল করতে, ড্রিবল করার জন্য
More languagesFewer languages
- dribble in Telugu
- డ్రిబుల్ చేయడానికి, డ్రిబుల్ చెయ్యడానికి, డ్రిబిల్ చేయడానికి
- dribble in Malayalam
- തുളളിതുളളിയായി വീഴുക, തുപ്പലൊലിപ്പിക്കുക, പന്തു പതുക്കെപ്പതുക്കെ തട്ടിനീക്കുക
- dribble in Kannada
- ತೊಟ್ಟಿಕ್ಕು, ಸುರಿ, ಹನಿಯಿಡು, ತೊಟ್ಟಿಡು
- dribble in Gujarati
- ડ્રિબલ કરવા માટે, ડ્રોબલ કરવા માટે, ડ્રિબલ કરવા
- dribble in Odia
- ଡ୍ରିବଲ୍ କରିବା ପାଇଁ, ଡ୍ରିବଲ୍ କରିବାକୁ, ଡ୍ରିବଲ କରିବା ପାଇଁ
- dribble in Nepali
- ड्रिबल गर्न, ड्रिबल गर्नाका लागि, ड्रिबल गर्नका लागि
- dribble in Arabic
- رَاوَغ rāwaḡ
- dribble in Persian
- دریبل dribl
Examples of dribble in a sentence
- After two minutes and 25 seconds, he scored with a pea-roller that totally foxed Stoke keeper Dennis Herod and dribbled in off a post.2017, Scott Murray, The Title: The Story of the First Division, →ISBN, page 138:
- She looked over at Captain Browder, saying with her eyes, “Do we have to keep on with this dribble?” / Browder broke in, “Trank, let’s cut out this insignificant ramble.2007, Paul F. F. Hood with Carra Leah Hood, chapter 15, in Tomorrow, Soldier, part 3 (Himmler’s Gas Station), Bloomington, Ind.; Central...
- I apologize, I should never have bothered you with this dribble.2016, William McChesney, “Back to the War”, in Retribution: They Must All Die, New York, N.Y.: Page Publishing, →ISBN:
Forms of dribble
| Verb | |
|---|---|
| third-person singular present | dribbles |
| present participle | dribbling |
| past participle | dribbled |
| past | dribbled |
| Noun | |
| plural | dribbles |
Origin of dribble
From drib + -le (frequentative suffix).
Words formed from dribble
Phrases with dribble
Words that rhyme with dribble
4 more rhymesFewer rhymes
Questions about dribble
- What does dribble mean?
- Dribble means in various ball games, to move (with) the ball, controlling its path by kicking or bouncing it repeatedly.
- What is dribble in Hindi?
- Dribble in Hindi is टपकना (ṭapaknā). See Dribble meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use dribble in a sentence?
- After two minutes and 25 seconds, he scored with a pea-roller that totally foxed Stoke keeper Dennis Herod and dribbled in off a post.
- What part of speech is dribble?
- Dribble can be a verb or a noun.
- How do you pronounce dribble?
- Dribble is pronounced /ˈdɹɪ.bəl/ (UK).
- What is the past tense of dribble?
- The past tense of dribble is dribbled.
Words near dribble in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: dribble (page history and authors); टपकना (Hindi) (page history and authors); dribble (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); dribble (Bengali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); dribble (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); dribble (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); dribble (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); dribble (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); dribble (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); dribble (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-dribble.ogg.
Cite this entry: “dribble.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/dribble. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.