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

Most recently, the bulldog was featured and credited in F1: The Movie, starring alongside his dad, and has even dabbled in the world of brand ambassadorships for a vegan dog-food brand. —Irene Kim, Vogue, 19 Aug. 2025

Gaudi dabbled in numerology and this is in the architecture of the building. —Jack Beresford, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 Aug. 2025

Suddenly, however, Westover appears to be on the right side of the roster bubble after adding fullback duties, while Fotheringham has dabbled at that position and is probably the best blocker of the bunch. —Chad Graff, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2025

Nintendo has dabbled with game development software before, but those products tended to focus on relatively narrow game genres. —PC Magazine, 16 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

perhaps frequentative of dab entry 2

First Known Use

1557, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Rhymes for dabble

• babble
• babel
• drabble
• gabble
• nabal
• rabble
• scrabble
• immeasurable

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