DRIBBLE


Meaning of DRIBBLE in English

/ ˈdrɪbl; NAmE / verb , noun

■ verb

1.

[ v , vn ] to let saliva or another liquid come out of your mouth and run down your chin

SYN drool

2.

[ v + adv. / prep. ] to fall in small drops or in a thin stream :

Melted wax dribbled down the side of the candle.

3.

[ vn + adv. / prep. ] dribble sth (into / over / onto sth) to pour sth slowly, in drops or a thin stream

SYN drizzle , trickle :

Dribble a little olive oil over the salad.

4.

( in football ( soccer ) and some other sports ) to move the ball along with several short kicks, hits or bounces :

[ vn ]

She dribbled the ball the length of the field.

[ v ]

He dribbled past two defenders and scored a magnificent goal.

■ noun

1.

[ C ] a very small amount of liquid, in a thin stream :

a dribble of blood

Add just a dribble of oil.

2.

[ U ] ( especially BrE ) saliva (= liquid) from a person's mouth :

There was dribble all down the baby's front.

3.

[ C ] the act of dribbling the ball in a sport

••

WORD ORIGIN

mid 16th cent.: frequentative of obsolete drib , variant of drip . The original sense was shoot an arrow short or wide of its target , which was also a sense of drib .

Oxford Advanced Learner's English Dictionary.      Оксфордский английский словарь для изучающик язык на продвинутом уровне.