scabble

American

[skab-uhl] / ˈskæb əl /

verb (used with object)

scabbled, scabbling

to shape or dress (stone) roughly.

scabble British

/ ˈskæbəl /

verb

(tr) to shape (stone) roughly

"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

Etymology

Origin of scabble

1610–20; variant of scapple < Middle French escapeler to dress (timber)

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:

scabbled scabbling

For face work the stones were roughly scabbled to shape and laid in mortar.

From Concrete Construction Methods and Costs by Gillette, Halbert Powers

I made some scabbling shift to pull her above high-water mark, and then went my ways.

From The Deemster by Caine, Hall, Sir

"Horn toad is right, the way you're scabbling around amongst them rocks," he called light-heartedly to the kid.

From Cow-Country by Bower, B. M.

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023