From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishdribbledrib‧ble1 /ˈdrɪbəl/ ●○○ verb 1 [intransitive, transitive]HBH to let liquid come out of your mouth onto your face Watch out, the baby is dribbling on your shirt! He was dribbling tea onto his tie.2 [intransitive always + adverb/preposition]LIQUID if a liquid dribbles somewhere, it flows in a thin irregular stream Blood from the wound dribbled down the side of his face.3 [intransitive, transitive]DS to move the ball along with you by short kicks, bounces, or hits in a game of football, basketball etc He was trying to dribble the ball past his opponents.4 [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] if something such as money or news dribbles somewhere, it comes or goes in small irregular amounts Money is finally dribbling back into the country now.5 [transitive always + adverb/preposition]POUR to pour something out slowly in an irregular way Dribble a few drops of olive oil over the pizza.→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
dribble• I hated that, cos he used to eat all slobbery like - you know, dribbling and that.• She dribbled cream in her coffee.• Under the present system, payments often dribble in months if not years later.• Reporters and television crews dribbled in to Austin over the last few days, with 275 requesting press credentials.• Grimm dribbled like a happy baby.• The marmalade should dribble off from several points, rather than running off smoothly from one spot.• Brown dribbled past midcourt and found Williams on the left wing.• Whoops, you just dribbled right into a double team.• My son's enchilada dribbled sauce all over his shirt.• Mullin dribbled the ball down the floor.• Either that or using one player to dribble the whole length of the pitch.dribbledribble2 noun 1 [uncountable]LIQUID a small amount of liquid that has come out of your mouth He wiped the dribble from his chin.2 → a dribble of something3 [countable]DS the act of moving the ball along with you by short kicks, bounces or hits in a game of football, basketball etcExamples from the Corpus
dribble• I watch the horrible dream drive away and disappear in a dribble of tail-lights.• I lean back in my chair and dab at dribbles of juice with a linen napkin.• Now I can see every pass, every dribble and every goal.• Fans loved his skill, he was regarded as the wizard of dribble.• The oil spill sent dribbles of tar onto beaches in New Jersey.• Veal is a streaky shooter who will need to develop more skills off the dribble and possibly convert to the point.• The third dribble, left-handed, at 3. 2, is a few feet from halfcourt.Origin dribble1 (1500-1600) drib “to fall in small drops” ((16-18 centuries)), from → DRIP1 