dabble

verb

dab·ble | \ ˈda-bəl

dabbled; dabbling\ ˈda-b(ə-)liŋ

Definition of dabble

transitive verb

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

intransitive verb

1a : 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

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

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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

Apple's already been quietly dabbling in water resistance. — Eric Limer, Popular Mechanics, "The iPhone Is Losing Its Headphone Jack But You'll Be Fine," 1 Sep. 2016 But throughout its four seasons, the show has pushed the limits of genre storytelling and dabbled with its own magic, going where few series have gone before. — Gabe Bergado, Teen Vogue, ""The Magicians" Finale Just Pulled Off Its Most Heart-wrenching Risk Yet," 18 Apr. 2019 Before Fluide, Giancarlo worked in design, creative strategy, and dabbled in typographic cake-making while Kraber worked in the start-up sphere and as a nutritionist. — Ludmila Leiva, Allure, "Meet Fluide, the Makeup Brand That Believes in the Power of Inclusion — Not Tokenism," 10 Sep. 2018 Detroit twirls a sign on the street to finance her radical artwork and dabbles in secret anarchic anti-corporate activism. — Katie Walsh, kansascity, "‘Sorry to Bother You’ skewers corporate and cultural corruption," 12 July 2018 His brother, Raul, took over and loosened domestic travel restrictions for Cubans and allowed the country’s first dabbling in private enterprise in nearly half a century. — Tracy Wilkinson, latimes.com, "A year after Trump reversed Obama's opening to Cuba, the U.S. is sitting out Havana's political revamp," 22 June 2018 Supercell has dabbled in hosting its own competitions before, including the Crown Championship World Finals last year in London, but a fully professional league represents a more concerted effort to make Clash Royale into a viable e-sport. — Andrew Webster, The Verge, "Supercell is launching the Clash Royale League next week," 17 Aug. 2018 Honnold started dabbling in free solo climbs sometime around 2005. — Amy Marturana, SELF, "'Free Solo' Star Alex Honnold Explains How He Got Into the Terrifying Sport of Free Solo Climbing," 26 Feb. 2019 The grocery business has also dabbled in some mergers and acquisitions of its own that would seem to be a pretty direct defense against the Amazon-Whole Foods threat. — Sarah Halzack, latimes.com, "Amazon-Whole Foods: A year later, what has changed?," 11 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'dabble.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.