dabble

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /ˈdæbəɫ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æbəl

Etymology

From dab

Verb

dabble (third-person singular simple present dabbles, present participle dabbling, simple past and past participle dabbled)

1. (transitive) To partially wet (something) by splashing or dipping; connotes playfulness.

   The children sat on the dock and dabbled their feet in the water.

2. (intransitive) To participate or have an interest in, but not so seriously.

   She's an actress by trade, but has been known to dabble in poetry.

Derived terms

• dabble in
• dabbler

See also

• dribble

Translations

partially wet

• Bulgarian: пляскам (bg) (pljaskam), пръскам (bg) (prǎskam)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 玩水 (cmn) (wánshuǐ), 濺濕 (cmn), 溅湿 (cmn) (jiànshī)

• Dutch: dompelen (nl), spetteren (nl)
• French: barboter (fr)

• German: platschen (de)
• Italian: sguazzare (it)
• Japanese: ばちゃばちゃさせる (ja) (bachabacha saseru)
• Russian: плескаться (ru) (pleskátʹsja) 
• Serbo-Croatian: brčkati (sh)

participate

• Bulgarian: меся се (bg) (mesja se), бъркам се (bg) (bǎrkam se)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 涉足 (cmn) (shèzú), 涉獵 (cmn), 涉猎 (cmn) (shèliè)

• Dutch: liefhebberen (nl), als liefhebberij hebben (nl)
• Italian: dilettarsi (it), occuparsi a tempo perso (it)
• Russian: заниматься поверхностно (ru) (zanimátʹsja povérxnostno)