DABBLE • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Dabble

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/dˈæbəl/ Listen

verb

Dabble v. t. (past & past part. dabbled; pres. part. dabbling) To wet by little dips or strokes; to spatter; to sprinkle; to moisten; to wet. "Bright hair dabbled in blood."

Dabble v. i.

To play in water, as with the hands; to paddle or splash in mud or water. "Where the duck dabbles 'mid the rustling sedge."

To work in slight or superficial manner; to do in a small way; to tamper; to meddle. "Dabbling here and there with the text." "During the first year at Dumfries, Burns for the first time began to dabble in politics."

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Etymology of 'Dabble'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Dabble" Quotes from Famous Books

... fact that all the walls of his rooms were hung with the most childish caricatures of animal life, and that he had even embellished the outside of his blinds with the most ridiculous paintings, did not disconcert me in the least; on the contrary, it confirmed my belief that he did not dabble in music, until, to my horror, I discovered that the strangely discordant sounds of a harp which kept reaching my ears from some unknown region were actually proceeding from his basement, where he had two harpsichords of his own invention. He informed me ...

— My Life, Volume I • Richard Wagner

... require of the house? A place to live in. And that means far more than eating and sleeping and having a place for one's clothes. There must be not only a place for everything, but a place for everybody in the ideal house. The boys who wish to dabble in electricity, the girls who wish to entertain their friends in their own way, the tired father who wishes to read his newspaper "in peace," the younger children who want to pop corn or blow bubbles or play games, all must be planned for. There will ...

— Vocational Guidance for Girls • Marguerite Stockman Dickson

... on the side. He had already made a small stake on stocks, secured a fair return from an investment in oil, and came out about even on the race-track. Up to this time, however, he had never indulged in the luxury of a theatrical venture, notwithstanding the hankering he had at times to dabble in that direction. As soon as he saw Handy he called him aside and began a little preliminary skirmishing, and in a roundabout way started in to lay bare the strenuous thoughts that were agitating his mind. He ...

— A Pirate of Parts • Richard Neville

... "I am free to confess that I have no personal desire to dabble in philanthropy, or conduct schools of any kind; my hands ...

— The Quest of the Silver Fleece - A Novel • W. E. B. Du Bois

... a day, To bustle to the town with speed, To dabble in what dirt he may,— Le Frere Lubin's the man you need! But any sober life to lead Upon an exemplary plan, Requires a Christian indeed,— Le Frere Lubin is not ...

— The Home Book of Verse, Vol. 4 (of 4) • Various

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