scribble

¹ American  

[skrib-uhl] / ˈskrɪb əl /

verb (used with object)

scribbled, scribbling

1. to write hastily or carelessly.

   to scribble a letter.

2. to cover with meaningless writing or marks.

   to scribble all over a page.

---

verb (used without object)

scribbled, scribbling

1. to write or draw in a hasty or careless way.

2. to make meaningless marks, scrolls, lines, etc., with a pencil, pen, or the like.

noun

• scribbles
  plural

1. a note or other writing that has little or no meaning.

2. a hasty or careless drawing or piece of writing.

3. handwriting, especially when illegible.

scribble ² American  

[skrib-uhl] / ˈskrɪb əl /

verb (used with object)

scribbled, scribbling

1. to tear apart (wool fibers) in the first stages of carding.

---

scribble ¹ British  

/ ˈskrɪbəl /

verb

1. to write or draw in a hasty or illegible manner

2. to make meaningless or illegible marks (on)

3. derogatory to write poetry, novels, etc

---

noun

1. hasty careless writing or drawing

2. writing, esp literary matter, of poor quality

3. meaningless or illegible marks

scribble ² British  

/ ˈskrɪbəl /

verb

1. (tr) to card (wool, etc)

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• scribbly
  adjective
• scribblingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• scribbles
  plural

Etymology

Origin of scribble¹

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English verb scriblen, scribul, from Medieval Latin scrībillāre “to scribble,” derivative of Latin scrībere “to write”; see also shrive

Origin of scribble²

First recorded in 1675–85; from Dutch schribbelen “to scratch”; cognate with schrobbelen “to card wool coarsely,” frequentative of schrobben to scrub ¹

Explanation

To scribble is to write something quickly and sloppily. You can also call someone's handwriting, if it's hard to read, a scribble. Have you ever made a note of something very quickly, and then later when you tried to read it, you couldn't? That's a scribble. People scribble when they need to write fast. The problem with scribbling—-making a scribble-—is that it’s hard to read. Some people have handwriting that is always hard to read: you can call poor handwriting a scribble. Doctors are famous for their scribbles. The Latin root is scribere, "to write."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

scribble scribbles scribbled scribbling

Then, in April, the court said: Now that we have the full case before us, we’re going to summarily reverse the district court for the reasons set forth in our five-paragraph scribble from December.

From Slate ● Jul. 13, 2026

Ava steps away for a moment, giving Deborah an opportunity to reach for her notebook to scribble a thought . . . then it happens.

From Salon ● May 29, 2026

He watched her scribble notes during his performance.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 25, 2026

To entertain themselves, they used notebooks to scribble down funny or vivid things other people brought up in their treatment groups, they said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 15, 2025

I lean over and scribble Dad’s e-mail address under her tractor.

From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali

He stacks bullet points along the side of the whiteboard, scribbles concepts and facts we throw at him.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

Meanwhile, the 2025 novel “Unfit” by Ariana Harwicz, about a mother losing her children in a custody battle, uses erratic crayon scribbles on its cover.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 16, 2026

Ultimately for me, this season’s scribbles ended up looking something like:

From Salon ● Sep. 9, 2025

When India head coach Gautam Gambhir scribbles down in his notepad what has gone wrong for them here then a poor showing under the floodlights will surely be top of the list.

From BBC ● Dec. 7, 2024

Even the board where Dad scribbles Scoob’s daily instructions is gone.

From "Clean Getaway" by Nic Stone

I had scribbled a few questions in advance but felt no compulsion to stick to any script, preferring that our own character dynamics might determine the plot of our interview.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

Parton later quietly organized for Bandit to be surpised with a custom acoustic guitar, bedazzled with rhinestones and the words "To Brigitte, Love Dolly" scribbled across it.

From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026

We went around the long dinner table, illuminated by a fireplace, and read what we’d scribbled.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026

He was greeted by the flashing cameras of 22 photographers as he entered the dugout before kick-off, while one City fan raised a bedsheet with 'Pep Stay' scribbled on it.

From BBC ● May 19, 2026

I mumbled a thank-you and quickly sat down against the wall, propping the paper against my knee as I scribbled down the bullet points from the letter as best I could from memory.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

They moved on to a client tender and she was scribbling notes.

From Slate ● Apr. 12, 2026

While on vacation in France, he started scribbling an idea for a spy novel.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 27, 2026

And earlier this month United defender Noussair Mazraoui was recorded comically scribbling half-hearted signatures on a set of shirts given to him by a hunter who approached him at his car window after training.

From BBC ● Mar. 23, 2026

“The childish scribbling handwriting is also a red herring for some of the more serious and sinister themes in the book, “ says Cash.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 16, 2026

When Alex came into the classroom, the teacher, Mr. Donovan, was already scribbling on the whiteboard, setting out a complicated equation.

From "Stormbreaker" by Anthony Horowitz

Related Words

• jot
• scratch
• scrawl