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.
On the game’s opening possession, Betts received a pass, took one dribble and pivoted to bank in a jump hook for the first basket.
From Los Angeles Times
Davidson’s best sequence of the night came in the third quarter, when she came off a screen, dribbled down to the baseline, spun between two defenders and hit a soft jumper from the wing.
From Los Angeles Times
This season he is averaging just 6.2 touches in the opposition box, compared to last season's 9.6, and he is averaging just 1.6 dribbles, less than half of last campaign's number.
From BBC
He’s a ridiculously proportioned savant who dribbles like a point guard, blocks shots like a center and puts up stat lines matched only by Hall-of-Famers.
Can the cease-fire survive this way, while Hamas dribbles out Israeli corpses?
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.
