dabble

UK: /ˈdæb^əl/ US: /ˈdæbəl/ ,(dab′əl)

Inflections of 'dabble' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

dabbles

v 3rd person singular

dabbling

v pres p

dabbled

v past

dabbled

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

dab•ble /ˈdæbəl/   v., -bled, -bling. 

1. to play and splash in or as if in water, esp. with the hands or feet: [no obj]:
   dabbling in the water.
   [ ~ + obj]:
   dabbling her toes in the bath water.
2. [no obj] to work without serious thought or action:
   to dabble in literature.

dab•bler /ˈdæblɚ/  n. [countable]

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

dab•ble  (dab′əl), v., -bled, -bling. 
v.i. 

1. to play and splash in or as if in water, esp. with the hands.
2. to work at anything in an irregular or superficial manner:
   to dabble in literature.
3. Birds (of a duck) to feed on shallow-water vegetation with rapid, splashing movements of the bill.

v.t. 

4. to wet slightly in or with a liquid;
   splash;
   spatter.
5. Dialect Terms [Chiefly South Midland U.S.] to wash or rinse off lightly.

• 1550–60; probably dab¹ + -le; compare Dutch dabbelen, dabben

dab′bler, n. 
dab′bling•ly, adv. 
Synonyms

• 2. putter, fiddle, toy, dally.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

dabble / ˈdæb^əl/ verb

1. to dip, move, or splash (the fingers, feet, etc) in a liquid
2. (intr; usually followed by in, with, or at) to deal (with) or work (at) frivolously or superficially; play (at)
3. (transitive) to daub, mottle, splash, or smear: his face was dabbled with paint

Etymology: 16th Century: probably from Dutch dabbelen; see dab¹

ˈdabbler noun