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.

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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.

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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

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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)

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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

Watching Mr. White’s Springsteen scribble down lyrics doesn’t exactly make for a revelatory cinematic experience, however.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2025

I learned this the hard way while following along on my mat, occasionally leaning over to scribble notes — at one point, I caught the teacher’s eye.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2025

The urge to use it to scribble all over Max’s shoes was strong, painfully so, but she just set it down on her desk and looked forward.

From "Far from the Tree" by Robin Benway

Even now, most of her lyrics exist as scattered notes and unfinished scribbles.

From BBC ● May 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

Unlike scribbles on a Post-it note, a password manager can be set to back up online.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 11, 2025

The duo quietly scribbles away, creating in the presence of one another, as pages of manuscript pile up.

From Salon ● Dec. 24, 2024

She gives a slight nod and scribbles with the pen he offers to her.

From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day

One $10,000 loan, memorialized in a note scribbled in Vietnamese, called for $100 a day in interest.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026

Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib furiously scribbled responses like “That’s a lie” and “No King” on a small whiteboard.

From Salon ● Feb. 25, 2026

Last month, I scribbled every form I’d need for my return on the envelope of the first 2025 income-tax form I received:W-2s, receipts, broker statements, etc.

From MarketWatch ● Feb. 17, 2026

Before 2008, he recalls, a clinician’s work was memorialized on paper: scribbled notes, doctor’s orders and thick charts parked at the nursing station.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 8, 2026

He scribbled a note into his legal pad.

From "I Can Make This Promise" by Christine Day

But even mathematicians were astonished when OpenAI announced that one of its models resolved a puzzle known as the unit distance problem without the help of any humans scribbling a bunch of equations on chalkboards.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 30, 2026

It was finally done in a month of frantic scribbling and, when complete, caused eyes to pop.

From BBC ● Apr. 20, 2026

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

From Slate ● Apr. 12, 2026

Lanier leaned on his down-home Texas folksiness throughout the trial, telling the jury what was on his heart and scribbling with grease pencil on his demonstrative aids.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 25, 2026

“Oh, of course,” I said, taking the paper from her hand and scribbling my name and some kind words.

From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad

Related Words

• jot
• scratch
• scrawl