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

Justin has also dabbled in fashion design over the years, cofounding Drew House in 2019 before the launch of his latest project, Skylrk, last year. —Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 14 Feb. 2026

While OpenAI has dabbled in a number of revenue models, including digital advertising, Anthropic has tailored Claude products to be a workplace assistant on tasks such as software engineering. —Matt O'Brien, Fortune, 13 Feb. 2026

The global market capitalization of all coins has shed more than $2 trillion in that time, and fewer and fewer traders are dabbling in meme coins and derivatives. —Will Gottsegen, The Atlantic, 11 Feb. 2026

Other skaters dabbled with the quad axel before Malinin’s mastery. —Los Angeles Times, 7 Feb. 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