dribble

1 of 2

verb

drib·​ble ˈdri-bəl 

dribbled; dribbling ˈdri-b(ə-)liŋ 

transitive verb

1

: to issue sporadically and in small bits

2

: to let or cause to fall in drops little by little

3

a

: to propel by successive slight taps or bounces with hand, foot, or stick

dribble a basketball

dribble a puck

b

: to hit (a ball) without much force so that it bounces slowly along the ground

intransitive verb

1

: to fall or flow in drops or in a thin intermittent stream : trickle

2

: to let saliva trickle from the corner of the mouth : drool

3

: to come or issue in piecemeal or desultory fashion

4

a

: to dribble a ball or puck

b

: to proceed by dribbling

c

of a ball : to move with short bounces

dribbler

ˈdri-b(ə-)lər 

noun

dribble

2 of 2

noun

1

: a tiny or insignificant bit or quantity

2

: a small trickling stream or flow

3

: an act, instance, or manner of dribbling a ball or puck

dribbly

ˈdri-b(ə-)lē 

adjective

Synonyms

Verb

• distill
• distil
• drip
• drop
• trickle

Noun

• atom
• bit
• crumb
• fleck
• flyspeck
• grain
• granule
• molecule
• morsel
• mote
• nubbin
• nugget
• particle
• patch
• scrap
• scruple
• snip
• snippet
• speck
• tittle

Examples of dribble in a Sentence

Verb

Juice dribbled down his chin.

She accidentally dribbled wine onto the rug.

Dribble olive oil over the warm bread before serving.

She dribbled across the basketball court.

He skillfully dribbled the soccer ball towards the goal.

Noun

He wiped a dribble of juice from the corner of the baby's mouth.

She gave the ball a dribble before passing it.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

LaVine didn’t care if Williams missed a shot or ran smack into a defender or dribbled the ball off his foot. —Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 16 Jan. 2025

Botman has magnificent distribution and is effective aerially, Schar can dribble and start attacks from the back, while Burn offers experience, leadership and out-and-out defensive reliability. —Chris Waugh, The Athletic, 14 Jan. 2025

Noun

After a short dribble inside, Savinho hit an outside-of-the-foot pass to De Bruyne on the wing. —Liam Tharme, The Athletic, 15 Jan. 2025

Paolo Banchero pump-faked a Milwaukee defender, took one dribble to his right and hoisted a 3-point shot from the wing as time ticked away late Friday night inside Kia Center. —Jason Beede, Orlando Sentinel, 11 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Verb

frequentative of drib to dribble

First Known Use

Verb

circa 1589, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun

circa 1680, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing dribble

• double dribble

Kids Definition

dribble

1 of 2 verb

drib·​ble ˈdrib-əl 

dribbled; dribbling -(ə-)liŋ 

1

: to fall or flow or let fall in small drops : trickle

2

: drool sense 2

3

: to move forward by tapping, bouncing, or kicking

dribble a basketball

dribble a puck

dribbler

-(ə-)lər 

noun

dribble

2 of 2 noun

1

: a small trickling flow

2

: an act or instance of dribbling a ball or puck