gabble
Americanverb (used without object)
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to speak or converse rapidly and unintelligibly; jabber.
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(of hens, geese, etc.) to cackle.
verb (used with object)
noun
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rapid, unintelligible talk.
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any quick succession of meaningless sounds.
verb
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to utter (words, etc) rapidly and indistinctly; jabber
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(intr) (of geese and some other birds or animals) to utter rapid cackling noises
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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gabblesimple
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gabblessimple
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have gabbledperfect
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has gabbledperfect
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am gabblingprogressive
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are gabblingprogressive
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is gabblingprogressive
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have been gabblingperfect progressive
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has been gabblingperfect progressive
Past
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gabbledsimple
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had gabbledperfect
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was gabblingprogressive
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were gabblingprogressive
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had been gabblingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of gabble
First recorded in 1570–80; perhaps from Middle Dutch gabbelen, or an expressive formation in English; cf. gab 1, gob 4, -le
Explanation
When you gabble, you talk so fast that you can barely be understood. A nervous public speaker might gabble for several minutes before she's able to get her point across. If you're gossiping about a neighbor and suddenly realize he's standing behind you, you might gabble for a while from the sheer awkwardness of the situation. Your grandmother might declare that she doesn't understand the music you like, saying, "They don't sing — they just gabble!" Gabble is a noun, too, meaning the sound itself: "See? It's all just gabble!" Gabble has a Dutch root, gabbelen, which is imitative — it sounds just like what it means.
Vocabulary lists containing gabble
Instead of "Said": Words That Sound Like What They Mean
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The Devil's Arithmetic
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Charlotte's Web
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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.
He's also working on Gabble, an Internet-based video dictionary that would help people in nations with low literacy rates communicate with the rest of the world.
From BusinessWeek • Apr. 8, 2010
Gabble, gabble, and an hour right out of a day's work means nothing to 'em.
From Betty Gordon in Washington by Emerson, Alice B.
Ploss, Henderson, and Swainson have a good deal to say on the subject of Frau Berctha and her train, the Wild Huntsman, the "Gabble Retchet," "Yeth Hounds," etc.
From The Child and Childhood in Folk-Thought Studies of the Activities and Influences of the Child Among Primitive Peoples, Their Analogues and Survivals in the Civilization of To-Day by Chamberlain, Alexander F.
Who, arm'd with Gabble, to create a Name, Design a Beauty, and a Monster frame, Not so the Seat of Phoebus role, which lay In Ruins buried, and a long Decay.
From Discourse on Criticism and of Poetry (1707) From Poems On Several Occasions (1707) by Cobb, Samuel
"Why, that will be Gabble Retchet," said Jael.
From Put Yourself in His Place by Reade, Charles
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.
