dribble

American  

[drib-uhl] / ˈdrɪb əl /

verb (used without object)

• dribbles,
  present (3rd person singular)
• dribbled,
  past participle,  past
• dribbling
  present participle

1. to fall or flow in drops or small quantities; trickle.

2. to drivel; slaver.

3. Sports. to advance a ball or puck by bouncing it or giving it a series of short kicks or pushes.

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verb (used with object)

• dribbles,
  present (3rd person singular)
• dribbled,
  past participle,  past
• dribbling
  present participle

1. to let fall in drops.

2. Sports.

   1. Basketball. to bounce (the ball) as in advancing or keeping control of it.

   2. (especially in ice hockey and soccer) to move (the ball or puck) along by a rapid succession of short kicks or pushes.

noun

• dribbles
  plural

1. a small trickling stream or a drop.

2. a small quantity of anything.

   a dribble of revenue.

3. Sports. an act or instance of dribbling a ball or puck.

4. Scot. a drizzle; a light rain.

dribble British  

/ ˈdrɪbəl /

verb

1. (usually intr) to flow or allow to flow in a thin stream or drops; trickle

2. (intr) to allow saliva to trickle from the mouth

3. (in soccer, basketball, hockey, etc) to propel (the ball) by repeatedly tapping it with the hand, foot, or stick

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noun

1. a small quantity of liquid falling in drops or flowing in a thin stream

2. a small quantity or supply

3. an act or instance of dribbling

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• dribbler
  noun
• dribbly
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• dribbles
  plural

Participles

• dribbling
  present
• dribbled
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• dribble
  simple
• dribbles
  simple
• have dribbled
  perfect
• has dribbled
  perfect
• am dribbling
  progressive
• are dribbling
  progressive
• is dribbling
  progressive
• have been dribbling
  perfect progressive
• has been dribbling
  perfect progressive

Past

• dribbled
  simple
• had dribbled
  perfect
• was dribbling
  progressive
• were dribbling
  progressive
• had been dribbling
  perfect progressive

Future

• will dribble
  simple
• will have dribbled
  perfect
• will be dribbling
  progressive
• will have been dribbling
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of dribble

1555–65; frequentative of obsolete drib (v.), probably variant of drip

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dribble dribbles dribbled dribbling

An exciting attacking midfielder with an ability to spot a pass or dribble past his opponent, Wilshere twice won the FA Cup with the Gunners.

From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026

A dribble of mignonette barely tamed their muscular salinity.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026

The club trophies are beginning to stack up already for the fast, direct, skilful winger who loves to run at an opponent and dribble past them.

From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026

Offered a bottle of water, Kingsley asks for a glass, explaining he doesn’t want to dribble on the sharp suit he’s wearing for the upcoming event.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026

We’re eye to eye as I dribble the ball.

From "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas

According to Opta, Williams averaged 8.2 dribbles per 90 minutes last season in La Liga with only Lamine Yamal, Kevin and Jeremy Doku averaging more in Europe's top five leagues.

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 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

At Cagliari, Palestra attempted 73 dribbles over distances of more than 5m - the most by any defender in Serie A - with only Juventus winger Kenan Yildiz recording more in the competition.

From BBC ● Jul. 1, 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

And then Stacy comes over, and my smile dribbles away.

From "A Good Kind of Trouble" by Lisa Moore Ramée

While just two players have dribbled past their opponent more than Lionel Messi at this World Cup, his team-mates have rarely attempted to do the same.

From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026

After taking a feed from Weston McKennie at the top of the box, Balogun dribbled around a defender as he entered the penalty area, then buried a left-footed shot into the back of the net.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026

On the field, Maradona dazzled fans as he dribbled around defenders like no else could.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 16, 2026

A sweetly-struck kick sailed over Steyn and dribbled into touch five metres from Scotland's line for a 50:22.

From BBC ● Nov. 15, 2025

Instead, I dribbled twice, focused on the basket, and shot the ball.

From "Here to Stay" by Sara Farizan

With a lot of these jokes it’s like dribbling a football, you just don’t know where it’s going to land.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026

Here, Savio's quick dribbling ability gets him to the byeline.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 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

A second later she grabbed a basketball and started dribbling.

From "Maybe He Just Likes You" by Barbara Dee

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Related Words

• drizzle
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