dabble

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dabble

/ˈdæb.əl/ Australia, UK
[ˈdæb.l̩] Australia, UK
/ˈdæb.əl/ Canada, US
[ˈdæb.l̩] Canada, US
[ˈdɛəb.l̩] Canada, US

Rhymes with -æbəl

Where it comes from

From earlier dable, equivalent to dab + -le (frequentative suffix), possibly from Middle Dutch dabbelen (“to pinch; knead; to fumble; to dabble”); cognate with Icelandic dafla (“to dabble”).

verb dabbles · dabbling · dabbled

transitive To make slightly wet or soiled by spattering or sprinkling a liquid (such as water, mud, or paint) on it; to bedabble. The Itelians […] reſpectleſſe of gentry, of few words, for they barrell up commonly more then they can broach, and ſo may be ſaid to be like a great bottle with a narrow necke; yet they are moſt cunning and circumſpect in negotiating, ſpecially when they have bin tampering with the Vine or the hop,
Similar: bespatter, besprinkle, spatter
transitive To cause splashing by moving a body part like a bill or limb in soft mud, water, etc., often playfully; to play in shallow water; to paddle. The children sat on the dock and dabbled their feet in the water.
intransitive, of waterfowl To feed without diving, by submerging the head and neck underwater to seek food, often also tipping up the tail straight upwards above the water. When a duck dabbles its bill in mud, it is using the lamellae (transverse plates) on the inner edges of its bill as a highly efficient filter. As the duck dabbles, its tongue acts as a piston, sucking water or mud into the mouth and driving it out again. Only the edible particles are left behind on
figuratively, intransitive To participate or have an interest in an activity in a casual or superficial way. She’s an actress by trade, but has been known to dabble in poetry.
intransitive, obsolete To interfere or meddle in; to tamper with. [A fellow of a college in Cambridge] freely confeſs'd, that he had for many Years been ranſacking Antiquity, in order to be the Author of ſome new Heresy or Opinion; and that after all his Searches, he cou'd think or fix upon nothing, but what on Fool or another had been meddling and dabbling with.

noun dabbles

A spattering or sprinkling of a liquid. Sir W. Rose has works that bear painful evidence of failing health; indeed, his group of the Duc et Duchesse d'Aumale (705), with the Prince de Condé and the Duc de Guise, is quite unfinished and even blotted. The face of the Duke is refined, but weak; the colour is pale, and the background only a d
An act of splashing in soft mud, water, etc. Happily, however, he [the gnat] is born a swimmer and can take his pleasure in his native element, poising himself near its surface head downwards, tail upwards. Why chooses he this strange position? Just for the same reason that we rather prefer, when taking a dabble in the waves, to have our heads
An act of participation in an activity in a casual or superficial way. […] I was induced to quit Leeds ſooner than uſual, as the concourſe of company which would aſſemble on that occaſion was expected to be very numerous and productive, and of courſe I could not idly let ſlip ſuch a lucrative proſpect but muſt have a dabble for the loaves and fiſhes.

Translations

Every language

verb to cause splashing by moving a body part in soft mud, water, etc.

Español	chapotear
日本語	ばちゃばちゃさせる bachabacha saseru
中文	玩水 wánshuǐ, 濺濕 /溅湿 jiànshī
Português	umedecer
Français	barboter
Deutsch	platschen
Italiano	sguazzare
Русский	плеска́ться pleskátʹsja

verb of waterfowl, to feed with the head underwater without diving

Deutsch	gründeln
Русский	корми́ться со дна kormítʹsja so dna

verb to participate in a casual or superficial way

Español	aventurarse en, incursionar en, experimentar con, diletar, escarcear, hacer pinitos
中文	涉足 shèzú, 涉獵 /涉猎 shèliè
Deutsch	ein wenig befassen, dilettieren
Italiano	dilettarsi, occuparsi a tempo perso
Русский	занима́ться пове́рхностно zanimátʹsja povérxnostno

noun act of splashing in soft mud, water, etc.

Español	chapoteo
Deutsch	Planscherei

noun act of participation in an activity in a casual or superficial way

Español	escarceo, diletantismo

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Cite this

MLA

"dabble." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/dabble. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

dabble. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/dabble

Chicago

"dabble." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/dabble.

BibTeX

@misc{dabble_2026,
  title = {dabble},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/dabble},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}