dabble

[dab-uhl]

verb (used without object)

dabbled, dabbling 

1. to play and splash in or as if in water, especially with the hands.

2. to work at anything in an irregular or superficial manner.

   to dabble in literature.

   Synonyms: dally, toy, fiddle, putter

3. (of a duck) to feed on shallow-water vegetation with rapid, splashing movements of the bill.

verb (used with object)

dabbled, dabbling 

1. to wet slightly in or with a liquid; splash; spatter.

2. Chiefly South Midland U.S.,  to wash or rinse off lightly.

dabble

/ ˈdæbəl /

verb

1. to dip, move, or splash (the fingers, feet, etc) in a liquid

2. (intr; usually foll by in, with, or at) to deal (with) or work (at) frivolously or superficially; play (at)

3. (tr) to daub, mottle, splash, or smear

   his face was dabbled with paint

Other Word Forms

• dabbler noun
• dabblingly adverb
• undabbled adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of dabble¹

1550–60; probably dab ¹ + -le; compare Dutch dabbelen, dabben

Word History and Origins

Origin of dabble¹

C16: probably from Dutch dabbelen; see _dab ¹

Example Sentences

The Dodgers need to take the step with something they’ve only dabbled in: “dual starters.”

From Los Angeles Times

She began dabbling after a foot injury left her homebound, and she was thrilled to finally find a craft that felt accessible to her.

From Los Angeles Times

I stayed in a little punk era in Nashville and dabbled in being everything from punk to goth to hippie to whatever was the shape of my body at that time.

From Los Angeles Times

The magazine was started in 1964 by Pestonji Warden, a Parsi doctor who also dabbled in the sandalwood trade, to chronicle the community in the city.

From BBC

It's hard to estimate just how many Australians now dabble in this kind of ideology, but experts say it could be up to tens of thousands.

From BBC