scribbled; scribbling
ˈskri-b(ə-)liŋ 
; scribbles
; scribbles
1
: to write or draw hastily or carelessly
a note scribbled on the back of an envelope
Harriet scribbled in her notebook as soon as she took her seat.—
Louise Fitzhugh
Louise FitzhughHe 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
C. S. Lewis2
: to fill or cover something with careless or worthless writings or drawings
a scribbled envelope
… papers … scribbled over with clues …—English Digest
English Digest
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
J. K. RowlingExamples 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
Jenni Carlson, USA Today, 19 Apr. 2025
Rather than scribble their names on a strip of wood along the restaurant’s bar, a tradition at Caddy’s before the storm, customers have instead signed a banner hanging nearby.
—Emily Cochrane, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2025
New Atlas, 29 Apr. 2025
Turn your scribbles into a strategic action plan for your social media content that moves your business forward.
—Jodie Cook, Forbes, 25 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scribble
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Verb
Even though Dina was only in elementary school at the time, Peter pulled out a pen and started scribbling numbers and equations on a napkin.
—Jenni Carlson, USA Today, 19 Apr. 2025
Rather than scribble their names on a strip of wood along the restaurant’s bar, a tradition at Caddy’s before the storm, customers have instead signed a banner hanging nearby.
—Emily Cochrane, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2025
Noun
The ePaper tablet has support for stylus input for scribbles, annotations and doodles using a range of Smart Scribe input tools.
—New Atlas, 29 Apr. 2025
Turn your scribbles into a strategic action plan for your social media content that moves your business forward.
—Jodie Cook, Forbes, 25 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scribble
Cite this Entry
“Scribble.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scribble. Accessed 9 May. 2025.
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Etymology
Verb
Middle English scriblen "to write hurriedly or carelessly," from Latin scribillare (same meaning), from earlier scribere "to write" — related to scribe
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