dabble

verb

dab·​ble ˈda-bəl 

dabbled; dabbling ˈda-b(ə-)liŋ 

intransitive verb

1

: to work or involve oneself superficially or intermittently especially in a secondary activity or interest

dabbles in art

2

a

: to paddle, splash, or play in or as if in water

b

: to reach with the bill to the bottom of shallow water in order to obtain food

transitive verb

: to wet by splashing or by little dips or strokes : spatter

Examples of dabble in a Sentence

The ducks dabbled in the stream.

She sat by the pool, dabbling her feet in the cool water.

Recent Examples on the Web

It's been dabbling in ultralow-cost devices, like smartwatches and earbuds, but the CMF Phone 1 is its first Android phone. —Julian Chokkattu, WIRED, 21 July 2024

Anyone who has dabbled in the beauty industry knows: treatments get really expensive, really quickly. —Brittany Leitner, StyleCaster, 16 July 2024

Amazon once dabbled with a ring to make its Alexa voice assistant readily available anywhere. —Adriana Lee, WWD, 15 July 2024

Shah started dabbling with making YouTube videos about personal finance and self-development in December 2021 — and now has over 1 million subscribers on YouTube. —Sawdah Bhaimiya, CNBC, 10 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

perhaps frequentative of dab entry 2

First Known Use

1557, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Kids Definition

dabble

verb

dab·​ble ˈdab-əl 

dabbled; dabbling -(ə-)liŋ 

1

: to wet by splashing : spatter

2

a

: to paddle or play in or as if in water

b

: to reach with the bill to the bottom of shallow water to obtain food

ducks dabbled in the pond

3

: to work or concern oneself lightly or without deep involvement

they dabble in poetry

dabbler

-(ə-)lər

noun