dribble

See also: dribblé

English

Etymology

drib +‎ -le (early modern English frequentative suffix)

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈdɹɪ.bəl/, /dɹɪ.bl̩/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈdɹɪ.bɫ̩/, /ˈdɹɪ.b(ə)l/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪbəl

Verb

dribble (third-person singular simple present dribbles, present participle dribbling, simple past and past participle dribbled)

1. (basketball, soccer) In various ball games, to move (with) the ball, controlling its path by kicking or bouncing it repeatedly.
2. To let saliva drip from the mouth; to drool.

   The baby dribbled onto its bib.

3. To fall in drops or an unsteady stream; to trickle.
4. (transitive) To let something fall in drips.
   • 1731 (date written, published 1745), Jonathan Swift, “Directions to Servants”, in Thomas Sheridan and John Nichols, editors, The Works of the Rev. Jonathan Swift, […], new edition, volume XVI, London: […] J[oseph] Johnson, […], published 1801, →OCLC:

     let her [the cook] follow him softly with a ladle full, and dribble it all the way up stairs to the dining-room

5. (dated) To live or pass one's time in a trivial fashion.
6. To perform a card flourish in which the cards fall smoothly from one's hand.

Descendants

• →⇒ Czech: driblovat
• → Dutch: dribbelen
• → French: dribbler
• → German: dribbeln
• → Portuguese: drible, driblar
• → Spanish: driblar

Translations

to let saliva drip from the mouth

• Bulgarian: лигавя се (ligavja se)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 滴涎

• Czech: slintat (cs)
• Dutch: kwijlen (nl), zeveren (nl)
• Esperanto: bavi, salivumi
• Finnish: kuolata (fi)
• French: baver (fr)
• German: sabbern (de), geifern (de)
• Ido: bavar (io)
• Italian: sbavare (it)
• Japanese: 滲む (ja) (nijimu)
• Maori: hāwareware
• Portuguese: babar (pt)
• Russian: пуска́ть слюни (ru) (puskátʹ sljuni)
• Serbo-Croatian: балавити, balaviti (sh)
• Spanish: babear (es)
• Swedish: dregla (sv)
• Tamil: ஜொள்ளு விடு (ta) (joḷḷu viṭu)

to fall in drops or an unsteady stream

• Bulgarian: капя (bg) (kapja), църцоря (bg) (cǎrcorja)
• Czech: kapat (cs)
• Dutch: druppelen (nl)
• Esperanto: guti
• Finnish: tippua (fi), tihkua (fi)
• French: goutter (fr)
• German: tropfen (de)
• Hungarian: csurran (hu), csöpög (hu), csepeg (hu), csöppen (hu), cseppen (hu)
• Italian: sbrodolare
• Manx: sheel
• Maori: pāhīhī
• Portuguese: gotejar (pt), pingar (pt)
• Serbo-Croatian: цуркати (curkati)
• Spanish: gotear (es)
• Swedish: droppa (sv)

to move (with) a ball by kicking or bouncing it

• Bulgarian: дриблирам (bg) (dribliram)
• Catalan: conduir (ca), driblar (ca), passejar (ca), regatejar (ca)
• Czech: driblovat
• Dutch: dribbelen (nl)
• Esperanto: dribli
• Finnish: kuljettaa (fi)
• French: dribbler (fr)
• German: dribbeln (de)
• Hebrew: כדרר (he) (kidrér)
• Hungarian: pattogtat (hu)
• Icelandic: dripla
• Ido: driblar (io)
• Irish: druibleáil
• Italian: dribblare (it)
• Maori: ārahirahi
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: drible (no)

• Polish: kozłować impf
• Portuguese: driblar (pt)
• Romanian: dribla (ro)
• Serbo-Croatian: driblati (sh)
• Spanish: regatear (es), gambetear (es), driblar (es), driblear (es)
• Swedish: dribbla (sv)

to let something fall in drips

• Bulgarian: изкапвам (izkapvam)
• Czech: odkapávat, nechat kapat
• Dutch: druppelen (nl)
• Esperanto: pogute versi
• Finnish: tiputtaa (fi), tiputella (fi)
• Hungarian: csöpögtet (hu), csepegtet (hu), csurrant

Noun

dribble (countable and uncountable, plural dribbles)

1. (uncountable) Drool; saliva.
2. (countable) A weak, unsteady stream; a trickle.
3. (countable) A small amount of a liquid.
4. (countable, sports) The act of moving (with) a ball by kicking or bouncing it.
5. (countable) A card flourish in which the cards fall smoothly from one's hand.

Derived terms

• seal dribble

Translations

trickle

• Bulgarian: капене n (kapene), росене n (rosene)
• Finnish: noro (fi)
• French: bave (fr) f
• Italian: bava (it) f

small amount of liquid

• Bulgarian: капка (bg) f (kapka)
• Catalan: bava (ca) f, gota (ca) f, regalim (ca) m
• Dutch: druppel (nl) m
• Finnish: tilkka (fi), pisara (fi), tippa (fi)
• French: goutte (fr) f
• Italian: bava (it) f

act of kicking or bouncing a ball

• Bulgarian: дрибъл m (dribǎl)
• Catalan: driblatge (ca) m, conducció (ca) f
• Dutch: dribbelen (nl) n
• Finnish: kuljettaminen (fi)
• French: dribble (fr) m
• German: Dribbeln n, Dribbling m
• Greenlandic: arsamik ingerlatsineq
• Hebrew: כדרור m (kidrur)
• Irish: druibleáil f
• Persian: دریبل (fa) (dribl)
• Portuguese: drible (pt)
• Romanian: dribling (ro) n
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: дриблинг m, дриблање m

  Roman: dribling (sh) m, driblanje m

• Spanish: regate (es) m, gambeta (es) f

Related terms

• crossover dribble
• double dribble
• dribble glass
• dribble penetration
• dribbly
• kill one's dribble

Anagrams

• dibbler

French

Etymology

Borrowed from English dribble.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dʁibl/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

dribble m (plural dribbles)

1. (sports) dribble

Verb

dribble

1. inflection of dribbler:
   1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
   2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

• “dribble”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

German

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Verb

dribble

1. inflection of dribbeln:
   1. first-person singular present
   2. singular imperative
   3. first/third-person singular subjunctive I