scribble

1 of 2

verb

scrib·​ble ˈskri-bəl 

scribbled; scribbling ˈskri-b(ə-)liŋ  ; scribbles

1

transitive + intransitive : to write or draw hastily or carelessly

Students scribbled furiously as the professor lectured.

Harriet scribbled in her notebook as soon as she took her seat.

—Louise Fitzhugh

He took a stump of lead pencil out of his pocket and scribbled a moustache on the lion's upper lip and then a pair of spectacles on its eyes.

—C. S. Lewis

2

intransitive : to fill or cover something with careless or worthless writings or drawings

The toddler scribbled all over the paper.

… papers … scribbled over with clues …

—English Digest

scribble

2 of 2

noun

plural scribbles

: a piece of writing or a drawing that is done quickly or carelessly

She could barely make out the doctor's scribble.

a page covered with random scribbles

… he pulled a thick wad of envelopes from the inside of the pillowcase he was wearing. Harry could make out Hermione's neat writing, Ron's untidy scrawl, and even a scribble that looked as though it was from the Hogwarts gamekeeper, Hagrid.

—J. K. Rowling

Synonyms of scribble

Verb

• write
• scrawl
• scratch

Examples of scribble in a Sentence

Verb

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 on the Web

Verb

One story of the Desert Fathers recounts a sighting of a demon perched on the top of the monastery, busily scribbling down all the faults of the brothers within. —JSTOR Daily, 31 Oct. 2025

Father denies abuse Dennis looked down and scribbled on a notepad throughout most of Wednesday’s testimony. —Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 30 Oct. 2025

Noun

Notes, document annotations, scribbles and works of doodle art can be made using the latest Pen3 input, which has been designed to look like a regular pen. —New Atlas, 24 Oct. 2025

But the field now is worlds away from those midnight pencil scribbles in a spiral notebook that kept his son alive until better technology came along. —Carrie Arnold, Scientific American, 14 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Verb

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

First Known Use

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1577, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for scribble

• dibble
• dribble
• gribble
• kibble
• nibble
• quibble
• sibyl
• sybil

Kids Definition

scribble

verb

scrib·​ble ˈskrib-əl 

scribbled; scribbling -(ə-)liŋ 

: to write or draw hastily or carelessly

scribble noun

scribbler

ˈskrib-(ə-)lər

noun

Etymology

Verb

Middle English scriblen "to write hurriedly or carelessly," from Latin scribillare (same meaning), from earlier scribere "to write" — related to scribe