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.
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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:
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
"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
Argentina's World Cup quarter-final win over England in 1986 witnessed two of the most famous goals in history - Diego Maradona's 'Hand of God' and the mesmerising, unstoppable dribble from his own half.
From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2026
“This is an industrial area, and there’s plenty of stuff around to catch fire,” he said, sidestepping a dribble of oily water.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 24, 2026
You dribble fast, somehow you get in front of Coby, and he holds you.
From "Booked" by Kwame Alexander
No player attempted more dribbles in the match than his eight.
From BBC ● Sep. 5, 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
No other player has attempted more than four dribbles without success at the World Cup so far.
From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2026
Despite only playing 34 minutes as a substitute, the Manchester United man has completed the most dribbles and has the best success rate among the 32 players to attempt five or more.
From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2026
He dribbles four times and then takes off at the foul line, spreads his legs, and soars.
From "Boy21" by Matthew Quick
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
On the field, Maradona dazzled fans as he dribbled around defenders like no else could.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 16, 2026
He must have forgotten who was guarding him, because Brandon McCoy came flying like Superman to block the shot, then took the deflected ball, dribbled and delivered an uncontested dunk.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 22, 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
The boys were quickly drawn into the action—cheering at each shot and steal, laughing and trading high fives when one of the girls dribbled around a defender, leaving her competitor in the dust.
From "Outcasts United: An American Town, a Refugee Team, and One Woman's Quest to Make a Difference" by Warren St. John
Maradona later scored what became known as the 'goal of the century' in the same game, dribbling past five England outfield players before slotting the ball past Shilton.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
Links to Cody Gakpo and the signing of Savinho provide Spurs with the one-against-one pace and dribbling quality to bring attacks towards the box.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 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
And then they disperse, passing around bottles of water and dribbling balls and stretching their legs.
From "Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda" by Becky Albertalli
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.
