scribble
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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to write hastily or carelessly.
to scribble a letter.
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to cover with meaningless writing or marks.
to scribble all over a page.
verb (used without object)
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to write or draw in a hasty or careless way.
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to make meaningless marks, scrolls, lines, etc., with a pencil, pen, or the like.
noun
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scribbles
plural
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a note or other writing that has little or no meaning.
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a hasty or careless drawing or piece of writing.
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handwriting, especially when illegible.
verb (used with object)
verb
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to write or draw in a hasty or illegible manner
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to make meaningless or illegible marks (on)
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derogatory to write poetry, novels, etc
noun
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hasty careless writing or drawing
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writing, esp literary matter, of poor quality
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meaningless or illegible marks
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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."
Vocabulary lists containing scribble
The Write Stuff: Scrib, Script
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Essential Word Roots: Graph, Gram, Scribe, and Script
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Roots: scrib, scribe
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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:
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
From time to time, he’d scribble in a small spiral notebook.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 3, 2026
You had this rough scribble of a brick base with a curvy wave over the top of it.
From BBC ● Mar. 30, 2026
It replaced the professorial lecture, the voice of authority, by a text in whose margin you could scribble your dissent.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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
Ultimately for me, this season’s scribbles ended up looking something like:
From Salon ● Sep. 9, 2025
Malak picks up a pen from the headteacher's desk and scribbles over the photo.
From BBC ● May 7, 2025
In another pivotal moment, Violet scribbles a message that seems to be a big deal according to the tense and pounding score.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 11, 2025
She gropes in her purse for a pen and scribbles a few things down on the back of a receipt.
From "Leah on the Offbeat" by Becky Albertalli
I would send the work I thought was my best, and I knew he read them, because he’d often send them back with scribbled notes and comments.
From Salon ● Sep. 8, 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
The childhood bunk bed was a technicolour dreamcoat of late-night results, felt tip pen scribbled on the oak-stained frame a record of who was winning the ultimate, never-ending championship of brotherly video game encounters.
From BBC ● May 5, 2026
Nancy watched as Bradley scribbled his name on the wrapper.
From "Case of the Sneaky Snowman: Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew, #5" by Carolyn Keene
He often made notes, scribbling in an A4 hardback notebook, and sometimes shook his head at parts of their testimony.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
They moved on to a client tender and she was scribbling notes.
From Slate ● Apr. 12, 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
Albert recalled asking, scribbling notes to herself so she would know she had heard correctly.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 8, 2026
It sprang out and began scribbling a note to Umbridge.
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
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.
