gabble

[ gab-uh l ]

/ ˈgæb əl /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR gabble ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object), gab·bled, gab·bling.

to speak or converse rapidly and unintelligibly; jabber.

(of hens, geese, etc.) to cackle.

verb (used with object), gab·bled, gab·bling.

to utter rapidly and unintelligibly.

noun

rapid, unintelligible talk.

any quick succession of meaningless sounds.

Nearby words

gabaonite, gabapentin, gabar, gabardine, gabbai, gabble, gabbro, gabby, gabe, gabelle, gaberdine

Origin of gabble

1570–80; perhaps < Middle Dutch gabbelen, or expressive formation in English; cf. gab¹, gob⁴, -le

Related forms

gab·bler, nounout·gab·ble, verb (used with object), out·gab·bled, out·gab·bling.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for gabble

Somehow he could not catch Alice's eye as they passed; she was smiling an answer to some gabble of Lady May's.
Checkmate|Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
O thou philosophic Teufelsdrockh, that listenest while others only gabble, and with thy quick tympanum hearest the grass grow!
Sartor Resartus|Thomas Carlyle
How much longer do you reckon that roomful of old women will gabble in Richmond?
The Battle Ground|Ellen Glasgow
It seems an insult to one's Maker to gabble over prayers, with one's mouth full of food.
Daisy|Miranda Eliot Swan

Clocker stopped listening to her gabble and looked for the building that Zelda would probably be in.
At the Post|Horace Leonard Gold

British Dictionary definitions for gabble

gabble

/ (ˈɡæbəl) /

verb

to utter (words, etc) rapidly and indistinctly; jabber

(intr) (of geese and some other birds or animals) to utter rapid cackling noises

noun

rapid and indistinct speech or noises

Derived Forms

gabbler, noun

Word Origin for gabble

C17: from Middle Dutch gabbelen, of imitative origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012