dabble

verb

dab·​ble ˈda-bəl 

dabbled; dabbling ˈda-b(ə-)liŋ 

intransitive verb

1

: to work or involve oneself superficially or intermittently especially in a secondary activity or interest

dabbles in art

2

a

: to paddle, splash, or play in or as if in water

b

: to reach with the bill to the bottom of shallow water in order to obtain food

transitive verb

: to wet by splashing or by little dips or strokes : spatter

Examples of dabble in a Sentence

The ducks dabbled in the stream.

She sat by the pool, dabbling her feet in the cool water.

Recent Examples on the Web

Nowadays, Brown's middle child is dabbling in modeling. —Emy Lacroix, PEOPLE, 28 Apr. 2026

The company has only dabbled in events, and could use its audience to build a consumer or professional events business. —Max Tani, semafor.com, 27 Apr. 2026

For now, there are no other concrete details about the follow-up to 2025’s Phantom Island, which found Gizzard dabbling in heavy orchestration for the first time. —Spin Staff, SPIN, 24 Apr. 2026

Looking at these deals tells you that this is not a company dabbling in data centers. —Josh Brown,sean Russo, CNBC, 23 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

perhaps frequentative of dab entry 2

First Known Use

1557, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Rhymes for dabble

• babble
• babel
• drabble
• gabble
• nabal
• rabble
• scrabble
• immeasurable

Kids Definition

dabble

verb

dab·​ble ˈdab-əl 

dabbled; dabbling -(ə-)liŋ 

1

: to wet by splashing : spatter

2

a

: to paddle or play in or as if in water

b

: to reach with the bill to the bottom of shallow water to obtain food

ducks dabbled in the pond

3

: to work or concern oneself lightly or without deep involvement

they dabble in poetry

dabbler

-(ə-)lər

noun