dribble
verb · noun
Simple meaning
Let saliva drivel from the mouth.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
dribuhlSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈdɹɪbəl
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
Let saliva drivel from the mouth
Let or cause to fall in drops
To fall in drops or an unsteady stream; to trickle.
transitive
To let something fall in drips.
basketballsoccer
In various ball games, to move (with) the ball, controlling its path by kicking or bouncing it repeatedly.
Run or flow slowly, as in drops or in an unsteady stream
noun
countablesports
The act of moving (with) a ball by kicking or bouncing it.
uncountable
Drool; saliva.
countable
A weak, unsteady stream; a trickle.
countable
A small amount of a liquid.
countable
A card flourish in which the cards fall smoothly from one's hand.
uncountablecolloquial
Rubbish; worthless matter.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient
- Frequency
- Rare
- Typical Use
- Primarily written
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Let saliva drivel from the mouth
Used this way, dribble is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
An illegal dribble in basketball (the player uses both hands to dribble or the player starts to dribble a second time after coming to a stop).
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What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.