dribs and drabs

plural noun

informal

: small amounts that come or happen over a period of time

They received donations in dribs and drabs.

Examples of dribs and drabs in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But the rules states needed to know in order to make that decision and others came out in dribs and drabs, and weren’t totally finalized until the very month that the federal marketplace launched. —Jennifer Pahlka, Time, 27 June 2023

But the guests tended to appear in dribs and drabs, or only briefly, or (in the case of Doja Cat, who digitally flirted with Dave but never met him IRL) didn’t appear on-screen with them at all. —Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 1 June 2023

After portions of it were predictably announced and leaked in dribs and drabs over the preceding days, the NFL's 2023 regular-season schedule and all 272 of its games were formally revealed Thursday night. —Nate Davis, USA TODAY, 12 May 2023

In dribs and drabs over the next 16 years, a remarkable pattern emerged — a Humpty Dumpty story with a happier ending. —Tom Mashberg, New York Times, 19 Apr. 2023

The secrets come in dribs and drabs until Adriana gets entangled in a murder cover-up at her Crazy Horse nightclub. —Mara Reinstein, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2021

Despite dribs and drabs of rain Minnesota's drought continues to worsen; extreme drought now from Alexandria and Wadena to Bemidji. —Paul Douglas, Star Tribune, 22 July 2021

Everything else has been dribs and drabs. —Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 24 Apr. 2023

The billionaire entrepreneur has talked in dribs and drabs about what Twitter 2.0 might ultimately look like under his control. —Tim Higgins, WSJ, 1 Apr. 2023