From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishdabbledab‧ble /ˈdæbəl/ verb 1 [intransitive]DO to do something or be involved in something in a way that is not very seriousdabble in/at/with people who dabble in painting as a way of relaxing2 [transitive] British EnglishMOVE/CHANGE POSITION to move your hands, feet etc about in waterdabble something in something children dabbling their feet in the sea→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
dabble• Her young quickly join this creche and start dabbling for small crustaceans and tiny molluscs.• She spent her girlhood in San Francisco, where her father dabbled in both journalism and the theater.• He dabbled in everything from bicycle exports to large-scale commodities purchases.• The four witches dabble in the supernatural to get back at their enemies and fix a few personal-appearance problems.• In defiant frustration, Nicole dabbles in the underground Seattle rock scene, where the older guys are equally alluring and dangerous.• I sort of dabble my foot in it like it's a puddle.dabble in/at/with• After dabbling in an ad hoc errand service, she spent $ 200 in 1989 to start her cleaning business.• She spent her girlhood in San Francisco, where her father dabbled in both journalism and the theater.• After dabbling in commercial ventures from within Titan for nearly four years, the company took a bold new step.• The financial squeeze has tempted many more to dabble in fraud.• He dabbled in the long jump until the age of twenty-four and then decided to switch to the sprints.• Curiously, I have become even more strongly persuaded of that since I began dabbling in the making of political television programmes.• The four witches dabble in the supernatural to get back at their enemies and fix a few personal-appearance problems.• He looked at her intensely and she looked down at her hands which she was dabbling in the water.Origin dabble (1500-1600) Probably from → DAB1 