What does dribble mean?
Dribble is both a verb and a noun describing movement in small amounts: liquid that falls or flows in drops, or a ball moved forward with a series of light, controlled touches. In sport, particularly basketball and football, dribbling is the essential technique of advancing while keeping possession, using continuous bounces or short kicks. Outside sport, the word applies to anything flowing thinly — sauce dribbled over food, water dribbling from a tap, wax down a candle — and, informally, to saliva running from the mouth, as in teething infants. As a noun, a dribble is a small, often unimpressive trickle, and the word can carry a mildly dismissive tone when describing meager quantities. It derives from an early seventeenth-century frequentative of 'drib', itself related to 'drip'. Its versatility across kitchen, nursery, and stadium makes it one of English's quietly indispensable small-scale verbs.
To fall or cause to fall in small drops; to move a ball along the ground with repeated small kicks, bounces, or taps.
"The toddler dribbled juice all down her front."
Intransitive for liquids ('saliva dribbled from his mouth'); transitive for balls ('she dribbled the ball upfield') and sometimes for liquids poured slowly.
A small quantity of liquid falling in drops or forming a thin trickle; also, the act of moving a ball with repeated small touches.
"Just a dribble of milk remained at the bottom of the carton."
Standard plural; typically refers to multiple small trickles or instances of dribbling.
"Dribbles of candle wax hardened across the tabletop."
Basketball owes its most basic skill to a rule change: dribbling was invented when players started bouncing passes to themselves to avoid traveling violations.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of dribble
Dribble arose in English in the early seventeenth century as a frequentative formation on the older verb 'drib', meaning to fall in drops, which itself connects with 'drip'. Frequentative endings like '-le' convey repetition, so 'to dribble' originally meant to keep dripping or trickling. The sporting sense developed later, becoming established in football and basketball usage in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Related word forms
How dribble is actually used
'Dribble' is neutral in register and common in both everyday speech and sports commentary. In sports contexts it is especially associated with basketball and football/soccer, where 'dribbling' is treated as a core skill. In British English it is also frequently used informally for drooling, including figuratively about babies and pets. The noun can be used dismissively — 'a mere dribble' suggests something pitifully small.
Easily confused with dribble
A 'drib' is an archaic noun meaning a small amount or trickle of liquid, whereas 'dribble' is the common verb and noun for letting liquid fall drop by drop or moving a ball with small touches.