dribble
Americanverb (used without object)
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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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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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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
- dribbler noun
- dribbly adjective
Etymology
Origin of dribble
1555–65; frequentative of obsolete drib (v.), probably variant of drip
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.
Shoot, it wasn’t even a dribble on the big map of the United States that hung on the schoolhouse wall.
From Literature
He registered five alone on Wednesday, while his seven dribbles were also higher than any other player.
From BBC
We dribble and pass and dribble and pass while Coach barks: “Keep the ball low. You know that joint between your ankles and your hips? Those are your knees, Hooperman. Bend them!”
From Literature
“It was the most beautiful thing, living in the countryside among the mango trees,” she says now as the juice dribbles down her chin.
From Literature
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
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.
