Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use dribble in a sentence

24 example sentences · verb, noun

Dribble means in various ball games, to move (with) the ball, controlling its path by kicking or bouncing it repeatedly. Example: “The baby dribbled onto its bib.”

Examples of dribble by meaning

verbTo let saliva drip from the mouth; to drool.

  • The baby dribbled onto its bib.

verbTo 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
  • The ball hit the wooden frame of his racket and dribbled into the net.1952, Charles Coombs, Young Readers Sports Treasury, page 14
  • The ball went dribbling toward the backstop.1991, David Halecroft, Wild Pitch, →ISBN, page 56

nounRubbish; worthless matter.

  • Frankly, I’m shocked you would waste my time with this dribble.2006, Mary Carter, chapter 27, in She’ll Take It, New York, N.Y.: Kensington Books, →ISBN, page 231
  • 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

More sentences with dribble

  • My nose be purple veined, a blodge that dribbles like a leaking tube of glue.2011, Aidan Chambers, Breaktime & Dance on My Grave, page 96. From the entry blodge
  • Give each participant a soccer ball and instruct them to dribble their ball around the coned area.2005, Anthony Dowson, Keith E. J. Morris, “Soccer Games”, in Fun and Games: 100 Sport-related Activities for Ages 5-16, Human Kinetics…. From the entry coned
  • The squirt was hitting 25-foot jumpers handedly, although she wasn't one for that whole dribbling thing.2004, Michael Hilburn, Travel Diary, Bolivia, Trafford Publishing, illustrated, page 75. From the entry handedly
  • Sister Raymond put a wet cloth on her forehead, dribbled some water across her mouth.1995, Thomas Keneally, A river town. From the entry mumpy
  • He dribbled it with his nose, bending it like Beckham.2002, Jenny Oldfield, “Saturday, May 26th”, in My Little Life: When Shah Went Weird, London: Hodder Children’s Books, Hodder Headline…. From the entry bend it like Beckham
  • She thought it was overpoweringly gross and yucked great dribbles over the front of her lace blouse .1987, Martyn Godfrey, Sandra Scott, It Isn't Easy Being Ms Teeny Wonderful, page 130. From the entry yuck
  • Cooper’s was also a fishmonger, with rows of porgies, snapper, and flounder on ice that slowly melted and dribbled pink water into white buckets.2023, Colson Whitehead, Crook Manifesto, Fleet, pages 244-245. From the entry porgy
  • Behind what looked like—but surely couldn't be—an oversized Ali Baba laundry basket dribbling earth and pebbles over the floor, peeped a save.2020, Marchell Abrahams, chapter 7, in Angels at Twenty Past, Troubador Publishing, →ISBN. From the entry ali baba
  • So, over the last couple of years, we've had a gradual dribble of information about a slew of potential spin-offs set in the Thronesverse.2018 June 11, Tom Nicholson, “Everything We Know About The 'Game Of Thrones' Prequel 'House Of The Dragon'”, in Esquire. From the entry Thronesverse
  • It was a small café, gimcracked with atmosphere, the usual red-checkered tablecloths, and candles dribbling down the sides of old wine bottles.2015, Dorothy B. Hughes, The Davidian Report. From the entry gimcrack
  • K'Nine intentionally bounced the last shot off the edge of the rim, rebounded, dribbled between his legs for three seconds, then alley ooped to Darius.2010, Mary B. Morrison, Somebody's Gotta Be On Top. From the entry alley oop
  • It smelled sunflowery though, and when, during the initial application, some of it had dribbled into my mouth, its taste was not unpleasant.2010, Elizabeth Ann Scarborough, The Drastic Dragon of Draco, Texas. From the entry sunflowery
  • Coming out second best then, he then tried a jinky dribble from right to left, only to find McCann standing in his way again.2006, “Tevez must sharpen up before axe needs to fall”, in Telegraph. From the entry jinky
  • Presuming that this is, more or less, what you were saying, -- this is, unquestionably, a complete and total piece of amateurland, jerk-off dribble.2004 April 15, nmstevens, “Here's How To Get Lot's^([sic]) of Stars Attached To Your Project!”, in rec.arts.movies.production (Usenet)…. From the entry amateurland
  • The cuisine is memorable, if you have ever met or made Sunday omelets of depressed nature, flat and fried-eggy with a dribble of sauce.1967 October 3, Ruth Bowen, “Papineau Climbed The Stairs”, in The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton, Alta., page 9, column 1. From the entry fried-eggy
  • The dribble is also used when driving toward the basket for a score, when trying to "outposition" an opponent, or when trying to clear from a congested area.1977, Thomas Kirk Cureton, Sports, Dance, and Related Activities, page 40. From the entry outposition
  • Most of the time I spent touring Alexandria, visiting friends, and sitting in cafés eating a strange, very sweet ice cream that hung from the spoon in dribbling shapes.1930, Pauline Koner, Solitary Song, Duke University Press, page 63. From the entry ultravivid
  • Our bikes are where we left them at the entrance to an overgrown snicket of yew, ivy and Hart's-tongue fern, through which a stream dribbles its way into the Ouse.2018, Will Eaves, Murmur, Canongate, published 2018, page 89. From the entry snicket

Meaning of dribble

  1. verb In various ball games, to move (with) the ball, controlling its path by kicking or bouncing it repeatedly.
  2. verb To let saliva drip from the mouth; to drool.
  3. verb To fall in drops or an unsteady stream; to trickle.

Full definition of dribble

Questions about dribble in a sentence

How do you use dribble in a sentence?
Dribble is used as a verb and noun. For example: “The baby dribbled onto its bib.”
What is a short sentence with dribble?
“The baby dribbled onto its bib.”
What does dribble mean?
Dribble means in various ball games, to move (with) the ball, controlling its path by kicking or bouncing it repeatedly.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: dribble (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use dribble in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/dribble. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.