dribble
Americanverb (used without object)
-
dribbles,
present (3rd person singular)
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dribbled,
past participle, past
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dribbling
present participle
-
to fall or flow in drops or small quantities; trickle.
-
to drivel; slaver.
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Sports. to advance a ball or puck by bouncing it or giving it a series of short kicks or pushes.
verb (used with object)
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dribbles,
present (3rd person singular)
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dribbled,
past participle, past
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dribbling
present participle
-
to let fall in drops.
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Sports.
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Basketball. to bounce (the ball) as in advancing or keeping control of it.
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(especially in ice hockey and soccer) to move (the ball or puck) along by a rapid succession of short kicks or pushes.
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noun
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dribbles
plural
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a small trickling stream or a drop.
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a small quantity of anything.
a dribble of revenue.
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Sports. an act or instance of dribbling a ball or puck.
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Scot. a drizzle; a light rain.
verb
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(usually intr) to flow or allow to flow in a thin stream or drops; trickle
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(intr) to allow saliva to trickle from the mouth
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(in soccer, basketball, hockey, etc) to propel (the ball) by repeatedly tapping it with the hand, foot, or stick
noun
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a small quantity of liquid falling in drops or flowing in a thin stream
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a small quantity or supply
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an act or instance of dribbling
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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dribblesimple
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dribblessimple
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have dribbledperfect
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has dribbledperfect
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am dribblingprogressive
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are dribblingprogressive
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is dribblingprogressive
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have been dribblingperfect progressive
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has been dribblingperfect progressive
Past
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dribbledsimple
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had dribbledperfect
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was dribblingprogressive
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were dribblingprogressive
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had been dribblingperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing dribble
Defense, Dribble, and Dunk: Basketball Lingo
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A Soccer and a Football Special
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Physical Education - Introductory
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The club trophies are beginning to stack up already for the fast, direct, skilful winger who loves to run at an opponent and dribble past them.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
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
Madueke had five touches in the opposition box, completed his only dribble of the game and won the penalty to set England on their way.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 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
You dribble fast, somehow you get in front of Coby, and he holds you.
From "Booked" by Kwame Alexander
According to Opta, Williams averaged 8.2 dribbles per 90 minutes last season in La Liga with only Lamine Yamal, Kevin and Jeremy Doku averaging more in Europe's top five leagues.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
Williams completed 43.8% of his 153 dribbles last season, scored six goals and registered three assists in a campaign that was disrupted by injury.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
For Bayern last season, he averaged almost double the number of touches per game, created twice as many chances per 90 and averaged two dribbles each match as opposed to one in Haaland's case.
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
At Cagliari, Palestra attempted 73 dribbles over distances of more than 5m - the most by any defender in Serie A - with only Juventus winger Kenan Yildiz recording more in the competition.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
Still, I try to carry what I have to Kelton, but it dribbles through my fingers and is gone by the time I reach him.
From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman
"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
Leverkusen were not happy with the penalty award as Malik Tillman's torso seemed to make contact with Madueke's foot as he dribbled into the box.
From BBC ● Mar. 11, 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
When I did, he dribbled underneath me and dunked.
From "We'll Fly Away" by Bryan Bliss
England fan completes challenge dribbling ball from Africa.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 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
The finding may explain why we can build upon skills, like going from plucking single notes on a guitar to shredding rock riffs, or from dribbling a ball to making cross-court plays.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
For one thing, they are both left-footed, and the youngster's game is blessed with the same dribbling intelligence, the same deceptive ease, that makes the difficult look inevitable.
From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2026
Muamer was dribbling too much and not keeping his head up to look for open teammates.
From "Outcasts United: An American Town, a Refugee Team, and One Woman's Quest to Make a Difference" by Warren St. John
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
