scribble

play

verb scrib·ble \ˈskri-bəl\

Definition of scribble

scribbled

;

scribbling

play \-b(ə-)liŋ\

transitive verb
1 : to write hastily or carelessly without regard to legibility or form
2 : to cover with careless or worthless writings or drawings
intransitive verb
: to write or draw hastily and carelessly

scribble

noun

See scribble defined for English-language learners

See scribble defined for kids

Examples of scribble in a Sentence

She scribbled a note to him and then dashed off to her meeting.
He scribbled down his phone number.
Students scribbled furiously as the professor lectured.
She was scribbling away in a notebook.
The toddler scribbled all over the paper.

Recent Examples of scribble from the Web

If this were a movie script, a director would scribble too unrealistic.

— chelsey lewis, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "The Driftless Region's Kickapoo Valley is a hilly paradise in western Wisconsin", 6 July 2017
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Scribbles in my Cleveland Cavaliers notebook as teams keep making moves in NBA free agency: 1.

— cleveland.com, "Cleveland Browns are facing some expectations; are they too high? -- Terry Pluto (video)", 6 July 2017
Certain names were no-brainers once the protection lists arrived Sunday, all but scribbled in Sharpie on the whiteboard.

— alex prewitt, SI.com, "Inside the Vegas Golden Knights' NHL expansion draft war room", 21 June 2017
Yet Prontip also took something more than scribbled pages from prison.

— mark sappenfield, The Christian Science Monitor, "Surviving a mission of self-worth", 11 June 2017
Scribbled on a whiteboard in the Davidson baseball clubhouse, there’s a list of Durin O’Linger’s bold claims.

— c jackson cowart, charlotteobserver, "Davidson’s Durin O’Linger beat UNC, Tommy John surgery: Here’s his next bold claim", 8 June 2017
Visiting hospice chaplain Connie Johnstone listened intently from the foot of the bed, egging Cleveland on with questions and scribbling down the occasional quote.

— sammy caiola, sacbee.com, "What will your last words be? Legacy therapy helps dying patients tell their stories", 6 June 2017
At last year’s conference, for example, Apple’s top software executive, Craig Federighi, demonstrated how users could order food, scribble doodles and send funny images known as stickers in chats on its Messages app.

— vindu goel, New York Times, "Apple Piles On the Features, and Users Say, ‘Enough!’", 2 June 2017
Gathering her thoughts, the speller scribbled on the palm of her left hand with her index finger.

— shahzeb ahmed, charlotteobserver, "Star Charlotte speller finishes near the top in national bee", 1 June 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of scribble

Middle English scriblen, from Medieval Latin scribillare, from Latin scribere to write

NEW!

First Known Use: 15th century

See Words from the same year

SCRIBBLE Defined for English Language Learners

scribble

play

verb

Definition of scribble for English Language Learners

: to write (something) quickly and in a way that makes it difficult to read
: to draw lines, shapes, etc., that have no particular meaning in a quick and careless way

SCRIBBLE Defined for Kids

scribble

play

verb scrib·ble \ˈskri-bəl\

Definition of scribble for Students

scribbled

;

scribbling

: to write quickly or carelessly

scribbler

\ˈskri-blər\ noun

Word Root of scribble

The Latin word scribere, meaning “to write,” and its form scriptus give us the roots scrib and script. Words from the Latin scribere have something to do with writing. To scribble is to write quickly or carelessly. To describe is to write or tell about something or someone. A manuscript is a document written by hand. To transcribe is to write down something spoken or copy something written.