dribble

American  

[drib-uhl] / ˈdrɪb əl /

verb (used without object)

• dribbles,
  present (3rd person singular)
• dribbled,
  past participle,  past
• dribbling
  present participle

1. to fall or flow in drops or small quantities; trickle.

2. to drivel; slaver.

3. Sports. to advance a ball or puck by bouncing it or giving it a series of short kicks or pushes.

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verb (used with object)

• dribbles,
  present (3rd person singular)
• dribbled,
  past participle,  past
• dribbling
  present participle

1. to let fall in drops.

2. Sports.

   1. Basketball. to bounce (the ball) as in advancing or keeping control of it.

   2. (especially in ice hockey and soccer) to move (the ball or puck) along by a rapid succession of short kicks or pushes.

noun

• dribbles
  plural

1. a small trickling stream or a drop.

2. a small quantity of anything.

   a dribble of revenue.

3. Sports. an act or instance of dribbling a ball or puck.

4. Scot. a drizzle; a light rain.

dribble British  

/ ˈdrɪbəl /

verb

1. (usually intr) to flow or allow to flow in a thin stream or drops; trickle

2. (intr) to allow saliva to trickle from the mouth

3. (in soccer, basketball, hockey, etc) to propel (the ball) by repeatedly tapping it with the hand, foot, or stick

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noun

1. a small quantity of liquid falling in drops or flowing in a thin stream

2. a small quantity or supply

3. an act or instance of dribbling

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• dribbler
  noun
• dribbly
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• dribbles
  plural

Participles

• dribbling
  present
• dribbled
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• dribble
  simple
• dribbles
  simple
• have dribbled
  perfect
• has dribbled
  perfect
• am dribbling
  progressive
• are dribbling
  progressive
• is dribbling
  progressive
• have been dribbling
  perfect progressive
• has been dribbling
  perfect progressive

Past

• dribbled
  simple
• had dribbled
  perfect
• was dribbling
  progressive
• were dribbling
  progressive
• had been dribbling
  perfect progressive

Future

• will dribble
  simple
• will have dribbled
  perfect
• will be dribbling
  progressive
• will have been dribbling
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of dribble

1555–65; frequentative of obsolete drib (v.), probably variant of drip

Explanation

A dribble is a slow, steady flow of water. Or, if you are a basketball player, you dribble the ball to make your way towards the basket. Dribbling consists of tiny drops of water (or another liquid) dripping. If you've ever had a leaky faucet going drip-drip-drip-drip, then you know exactly what dribbling is like, and how annoying it can be. Dribbling in basketball isn't annoying at all; in fact, it's an essential skill. If you think about it, the repeated tap-tap-tap of the ball sounds a bit like the drip-drip-drip of the water dribbling.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dribble dribbles dribbled dribbling

Of course, it’s unclear what that coda would look like, and if it involves spending a lot of time watching James Harden dribble in circles.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

Offered a bottle of water, Kingsley asks for a glass, explaining he doesn’t want to dribble on the sharp suit he’s wearing for the upcoming event.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026

The second, an act of pure genius - a daring dribble from his own half leaving England players velcroed to the Azteca turf, before grounding and rounding goalkeeper Peter Shilton.

From BBC ● Jun. 11, 2026

"All anyone needs to play basketball is a ball and a hoop, a surface that you can dribble on, and New York City has an awful lot of that kind of space," she said.

From Barron's ● Jun. 7, 2026

He loves tuna cans And milk cartons With their dribble Of milk.

From "Neighborhood Odes" by Gary Soto

He also ranked in the top three for dribbles completed per match.

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026

No player attempted more dribbles in the match than his eight.

From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026

At this World Cup, the Frenchman has attempted 14 dribbles across the first two matches, compared with just one from Haaland.

From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026

When Mbappe dribbles, it's normally with more pace.

From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026

He dribbles back to the top of the key, fixes his eyes on the goal.

From "The Crossover" by Kwame Alexander

To be fair to Maradona, he then scored probably the greatest World Cup goal of all time as he dribbled through half the England team, rounded Shilton and slotted home to double Argentina's lead.

From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026

"When I was small I never dribbled much or got past many opponents. I scored a lot of goals, ran a lot, but above all I had very good vision of the game," he said.

From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2026

On the field, Maradona dazzled fans as he dribbled around defenders like no else could.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 16, 2026

Maswanhise gained possession inside the South African half, dribbled past two opponents and fired the ball wide of goalkeeper Ronwen Williams into the far corner.

From Barron's ● Dec. 29, 2025

Mom dribbled sauce onto her spring roll and tore into it with such aggression that I jumped in my seat.

From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas

Kane, not known for his dribbling - and by his own admission "not the fastest", has thrived on his own terms.

From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026

England fan completes challenge dribbling ball from Africa.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026

There’s no dribbling here, no sudden change of direction, or blur of delicate touches.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026

Rodri’s dribbling opened more space for Spain, allowing him to create a shooting opportunity that grazed the post in the 54th minute.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026

I pulled one out of the group with my foot and started dribbling it around slowly.

From "Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus" by Dusti Bowling

Related Words

• drizzle
• ooze
• squirt