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

White wrote jingles for commercials (a gig that informed his future compositions as much as Lou Reed’s dabbling in pop songwriting at Pickwick Records did his). —Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 4 June 2026

Specialized dabbled in tandems around the same time. —Mark Dent, HubSpot, 1 June 2026

He's also dabbled in entrepreneurship in the wellness and tech spaces. —Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 1 June 2026

Refn isn’t the only director who’s been dabbling; there’s been a major increase in the number of filmmakers who are exploring AI, and some brought their projects to show to buyers this year. —Rebecca Ford, Vanity Fair, 23 May 2026

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