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

Yet only one hundred or so dabbled in the new market for credit default swaps on subprime mortgage bonds.

Read more on Literature

But after years of dabbling in pop and hip-hop, Yungblud seemed to reintroduce himself with the widely praised “Changes” performance as an out-and-out rocker.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

It might be easy to assume his regular getup is a result of wanting to match the music, but Rodriguez insists he was already dressing that way much before he ever considered dabbling in soul.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Although he's best known for his work in electromagnetism and thermodynamics, he also dabbled in mechanics and developed useful design considerations for creating stable structures with repeating subunits called Maxwell lattices, McInerney said.

Read more on Science Daily

Puech, among other endeavors, helped to launch a couture business that eventually declared bankruptcy and dabbled as a water-skiing instructor, but in recent decades he lived almost entirely off the dividends from his Hermès shares.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal