dribble

verb drib·ble \ ˈdri-bəl \

Definition of dribble

dribbled; dribbling play \-(ə-)liŋ\

transitive verb

1 :to issue sporadically and in small bits

2 :to let or cause to fall in drops little by little

3 a :to propel by successive slight taps or bounces with hand, foot, or stick

dribble a basketball

dribble a puck

b :to hit (a ball) without much force so that it bounces slowly along the ground

intransitive verb

1 :to fall or flow in drops or in a thin intermittent stream :trickle

2 :to let saliva trickle from the corner of the mouth :drool

3 :to come or issue in piecemeal or desultory fashion

4 a :to dribble a ball or puck

b :to proceed by dribbling

c of a ball :to move with short bounces

—

dribbler

play \-b(ə-)lər\ noun

See dribble defined for English-language learners

See dribble defined for kids

Examples of dribble in a Sentence

Juice dribbled down his chin.
She accidentally dribbled wine onto the rug.
Dribble olive oil over the warm bread before serving.
She dribbled across the basketball court.
He skillfully dribbled the soccer ball towards the goal.

Recent Examples of dribble from the Web

The network acknowledged the hack in late July, and the thieves have been dribbling out stolen video and documents since then.

— Bloomberg.com, "HBO Hackers Leak Episodes From Upcoming Season of 'Curb'," 13 Aug. 2017
Participants also received considerable instruction on shooting, dribbling, passing and defending from Ulis and camp instructors, which included friend and former Marian Catholic teammate Ki-Jana Crawford.

— pat disabato, Daily Southtown, "Happy homecoming at Marian Catholic for Phoenix Suns guard Tyler Ulis," 12 Aug. 2017
If that’s true, why did Emanuel play the media like a fiddle by dribbling out details of the lawsuit over a three-day period?

— The Hive, "Even ISIS Can’t Resist Criticizing the Media," 9 Aug. 2017
Roldan knocked down a pass, dribbled past a defender and raced in alone on Worra, beating him to his right for a 4-3 Sounders lead.

— geoff baker, The Seattle Times, "Sounders win their biggest comeback ever," 19 July 2017
And yet some of the information that has dribbled out over the course of the day suggests even more than this.

— jonathan chait, Daily Intelligencer, "The Trump Tower Russian Collusion Meeting Gets Way More Suspicious," 14 July 2017
Sensing a hint of separation, Isaac dribbled left, stepped back and launched a high-arcing jumper from just inside the 3-point line.

— josh robbins, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Jonathan Isaac impresses in second summer-league game," 2 July 2017
Time and time again, Mexico would get the ball into dangerous areas, only to dribble into traffic, or away from goal, or search in vain for a passing option that didn't arrive, or try a difficult ball forward that didn't connect.

— alexander abnos, SI.com, "Mexico unprepared for early onslaught as Germany rolls on to Confederations Cup final," 29 June 2017
Andre Silva dribbled deep into the New Zealand penalty area to score with a rising shot in the 80th and substitute Nani shot low past goalkeeper Stefan Marinovic in stoppage time.

— graham dunbar, The Seattle Times, "Ronaldo scores, Portugal eases past New Zealand 4-0," 24 June 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of dribble

frequentative of drib to dribble

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1589

See Words from the same year

dribble Synonyms

Synonyms

distill (also distil), drip, drop, trickle

Antonyms

pour, roll, stream

Related Words

drizzle, sprinkle; flow, pour, roll, run, stream; cascade, gutter, riffle, ripple; bleed, exude, ooze, seep, weep; discharge

Near Antonyms

gush, spout, spurt

dribble

noun

Definition of dribble

1 :a tiny or insignificant bit or quantity

2 :a small trickling stream or flow

3 :an act, instance, or manner of dribbling a ball or puck

—

dribbly

play \ˈdri-b(ə-)lē\ adjective

See dribble defined for English-language learners

Examples of dribble in a Sentence

He wiped a dribble of juice from the corner of the baby's mouth.
She gave the ball a dribble before passing it.

Recent Examples of dribble from the Web

That had power forward James Johnson as a primary ballhandler last season, and Bam Adebayo, the center taken out of Kentucky in June's first round, afforded the luxury of bust-out dribbles during summer league.

— ira winderman, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Kelly Olynyk warming to his possibilities with Miami Heat," 9 Aug. 2017
Few Twitter users can match the half-intelligible dribble of tweets put forth on a semi-regular basis by Donald Trump, but his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., has done his best.

— vanityfair.com, "From the Archives: Trump’s Knucklehead Son’s Advice on Russia, E-mails, Mugshots, and More," 11 July 2017
This despite the increasing dribbles of diversity that are occurring in core Marvel Comics.

— jason johnson, The Root, "Spider-Man: Homecoming Diversity Push Makes No Spidey-Sense," 7 July 2017
Young girls streaked across the hardwood, their sneakers squeaking, their dribbles echoing across the court.

— cynthia hubert, sacbee, "‘I lived in fear.’ Former WNBA star Ruthie Bolton says she escaped a violent marriage," 24 June 2017
Playing alongside Ben Simmons, Fultz should give Philadelphia another creative player off the dribble, as well as a shooter and athlete to pair with Simmons, who is expected to do a lot of ballhandling despite being 6-foot-10.

— tim bontemps, chicagotribune.com, "Winners (Knicks) and losers (Bulls) from the 2017 NBA draft," 23 June 2017
The Pistons first-round pick can shoot the three-pointer, score off the dribble and create for others.

— vince ellis, Detroit Free Press, "Pistons draft pick Luke Kennard must get 'a lot better' on defense," 23 June 2017
Jones has also worked getting stronger in the weight room and back on the court, shooting off the dribble.

— gary estwick, AL.com, "UAB target Colby Jones talks basketball, books and tenor saxophone," 22 June 2017
Part of the reason Fultz can rack up points is due to his ability to create space off the dribble.

— matt calkins, The Seattle Times, "Why UW’s lousy 9-win season doesn’t mar Markelle Fultz and his NBA outlook," 21 June 2017

First Known Use of dribble

circa 1680

dribble Synonyms

Other Field and Goal Sports Terms

crease, lateral, lax, overthrow, playbook, post, screen, scrum, secondary, ultimate

DRIBBLE Defined for English Language Learners

dribble

verb

Definition of dribble for English Language Learners

: to fall or flow in small drops
: to let (a liquid) fall in small drops
: to let saliva or another liquid drip or trickle from your mouth

dribble

noun

Definition of dribble for English Language Learners

: a small flow of liquid
: an act of moving a ball or puck forward by tapping, bouncing, or kicking it

DRIBBLE Defined for Kids

dribble

verb drib·ble \ ˈdri-bəl \

Definition of dribble for Students

dribbled; dribbling

1 :to fall or let fall in small drops :trickle

Water dribbled out of the crack.

2 :to let saliva or other liquid drip or trickle from the mouth

3 :to move forward by bouncing, tapping, or kicking

dribble a basketball

dribble

noun

Definition of dribble for Students

1 :a trickling flow

2 :the act of moving a ball or puck forward by bouncing, kicking, or tapping it

Learn More about dribble

See words that rhyme with dribble Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for dribble Spanish Central: Translation of dribble Nglish: Translation of dribble for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of dribble for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about dribble

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dribble

Definition of dribble

dribbler

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Examples of dribble in a Sentence

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Origin and Etymology of dribble

dribble Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Related Words

Near Antonyms

dribble

Definition of dribble

dribbly

Examples of dribble in a Sentence

Recent Examples of dribble from the Web

First Known Use of dribble

dribble Synonyms

Synonyms

Related Words

Near Antonyms

Other Field and Goal Sports Terms

DRIBBLE Defined for English Language Learners

dribble

Definition of dribble for English Language Learners

dribble

Definition of dribble for English Language Learners

DRIBBLE Defined for Kids

dribble

Definition of dribble for Students

dribble

Definition of dribble for Students

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