What's the difference between dabble and dribble?

Dabble


Definition:

  • (v. t.) To wet by little dips or strokes; to spatter; to sprinkle; to moisten; to wet.
  • (v. i.) To play in water, as with the hands; to paddle or splash in mud or water.
  • (v. i.) To work in slight or superficial manner; to do in a small way; to tamper; to meddle.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) Now she also dabbles in playwriting and rap, and is in the band Sound of Rum .
  • (2) Rebelling by dabbling in drink, fags, sex – the list goes on – is part of growing up.
  • (3) Asked by a troll how long he planned to “live off” his Olympic success, and if he would ever do anything of consequence again, Rutherford suggested he might become a porn star or dabble in pottery instead.
  • (4) With Jackie Collins announcing plans to self-publish a revised version of her novel The Bitch, even traditionally published authors are now dabbling in self-publishing, and the survey found this was to good effect: they earned 2.5 times more when self-publishing than did rejected authors or authors who went straight to self-publishing.
  • (5) Mean arterial blood pressure in dives was unchanged from pre-dive levels in both naive and trained dabbling ducks.
  • (6) The US dabbled ineffectually in helping the rebel cause, hobbled by uncertainty over the groups it was dealing with.
  • (7) His father was a doctor who dabbled in property and ran for local election on a far-right ticket in 1959.
  • (8) He seems to hanker after footholds – a dabble with Scientology has come to an end, and it seems fair to say that the experience has contributed to what he calls his "wounded position".
  • (9) He is a maverick, a teenager – and dabbles in enough off-beat skits to fill that token jazz category.
  • (10) Absolute Radio has already launched the digital services Absolute Radio Classic Rock, Absolute 80s, Absolute 90s and its user-controlled station, dabbl .
  • (11) That may be so - and both the Times and Telegraph dabble in the Mail market.
  • (12) He also dabbled in cleaning and fabric-dying businesses, thought of becoming a professional cameraman and was eager to market self-designed chess sets, optical machines and scientific toys.
  • (13) The cause of the yearly death of an estimated 1,000 to 2,000 migrating dabbling ducks (Anas spp.)
  • (14) Dickens said dabbl would initially be a London-based service on DAB but would soon expand its reach to parts of the south of England including Essex, Berkshire, Wiltshire and Bristol.
  • (15) Blessed – or cursed – with Africa's most famous name, many of the Mandelas have gone into business; a few have dabbled in politics and two are starring in a much-derided reality TV show, Being Mandela .
  • (16) It wasn't until 2005, in Untold Stories, that he discussed his sexuality and said he considered himself gay, despite his long-term dabbling with the other side.
  • (17) The Nevada state assemblywoman was – before her dabble as negotiator-in-chief – best known for the striking images she distributes of herself and her family armed with guns.
  • (18) Yet one of the rationales for QE is that it discourages investors from holding government bonds and encourages them to dabble in riskier assets.
  • (19) Donald Trump may have insulted Mexicans, Muslims and women but to woo Indian American voters he’s even dabbling in Hindi for Diwali.
  • (20) They charge visitors $20 for a tour, carry out routine maintenance to prevent it turning to dust, and hope that one day the old autocrat’s children, who continue to dabble in politics, will restore it for the nation.

Dribble


Definition:

  • (v. i.) To fall in drops or small drops, or in a quick succession of drops; as, water dribbles from the eaves.
  • (v. i.) To slaver, as a child or an idiot; to drivel.
  • (v. i.) To fall weakly and slowly.
  • (v. t.) To let fall in drops.
  • (n.) A drizzling shower; a falling or leaking in drops.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) After two placings of shares with institutional investors which began two years ago, the government has been selling shares by “dribbling” them into the market.
  • (2) Villas-Boas paid £15m to bring the Belgian from Fulham and the signs are that he could prove a bargain, as Dembélé is emerging as one of the most complete midfielders in the Premier League, boasting strength, tenacity, creative passing, tricky dribbling and dangerous shooting.
  • (3) At one point Liverpool's young, raw full-back could be seen dribbling round Juan Mata.
  • (4) Alexander says the information is being "dribbled out" in a way that he believes is intended to inflict "maximum harm": I believe it's being done in a way that would cause maximum harm.
  • (5) A male adolescent presented with perineal dribbling during voiding.
  • (6) It has emerged, however, from a document that circulated among journalists and academics in South Africa, and which finally dribbled into print in 2005, that Mandela condoned his wife's statement.
  • (7) His fourth goal was a header from a cross by Jesé, who scored the team’s sixth a minute later after a dribble through the defence and a shot that went in at the base of the post.
  • (8) This scenario seems a world away from the days when his parents, Dave and Sonia Johnson, realised their five-year-old son manipulated the mini-football he continually dribbled around their home in Easington, County Durham, with quite extraordinary dexterity.
  • (9) Yet the veteran’s touch betrayed weary limbs, forcing him wide, with his shot dribbling beyond the far post and behind.
  • (10) Stoke kept Sánchez mostly subdued until the 57th minute, when the South American embarked on a dribble of which Diego Maradona would have been proud.
  • (11) at times they have carved Chelsea open with some cracking short dribbles and quick unpredictable movement, but sadly have picked up a couple of their least desirable traits."
  • (12) The centre-half had collected a throw-in on 15 minutes and attempted a blind pass infield, only to dribble the ball straight to a rampaging Costa.
  • (13) Following dilatation, bladder emptying into condom catheters was achieved in all patients without dribbling incontinence.
  • (14) I’ll make sure they stay interested.” Trump’s post-convention tribulations just prompted Time magazine to publish a stylised image of his head dribbling like hot wax beside a single word headline: “ Meltdown ”.
  • (15) Richards’s association with City goes back to the age of 14, when he arrived for a trial from Oldham Athletic and remembers being blown away by Shaleum Logan “playing up front, dribbling around everyone, and I was thinking: ’Oh my God, he’s unbelievable.’ I wasn’t used to the pace of the game.
  • (16) He was teed up by Gervinho, who had put the fear into Colombia with another dribble, but Kalou scuffed straight at Ospina from 18 yards.
  • (17) 8.22pm GMT 36 min: Kagawa dinks and dribbles down the right and into the area.
  • (18) The most frequent symptoms were poor stream (in 70%), frequency (50%) and dribbling (37%), while 30 % had nocturia, and 20% urgency, dysuria or perineal pain during voiding.
  • (19) They can’t look straight at me – they’re dribbling wrecks.” Rob was killed 20 years ago, but Kilgour didn’t begin to process his death until he started getting arrested repeatedly for violent assault.
  • (20) Reformers finally have the jolt in the arm they needed to prevent the positive impact of Snowden’s revelations dribbling away.