dabble

dab·ble  (dbl)

v. dab·bled, dab·bling, dab·bles

v.tr.

To splash or spatter with or as if with a liquid: "The moon hung over the harbor dabbling the waves with gold" (Katherine Mansfield).

v.intr.

1. To splash liquid gently and playfully.

2. To undertake something superficially or without serious intent: "The restaurant business entails more than . . . dabbling in interior design" (Andy Birsh).

3. To bob forward and under in shallow water so as to feed off the bottom.

---

[Possibly from Dutch dabbelen, frequentative of dabben, to strike, tap.]

---

dabble [ˈdæb^əl]

vb

1. to dip, move, or splash (the fingers, feet, etc.) in a liquid

2. (intr; usually foll by in, with, or at) to deal (with) or work (at) frivolously or superficially; play (at)

3. (tr) to daub, mottle, splash, or smear his face was dabbled with paint

[probably from Dutch dabbelen; see dab¹]

dabbler  n

Thesaurus

Verb	1.	dabble - dip a foot or hand briefly into a liquid dip, dunk, souse, douse, plunge - immerse briefly into a liquid so as to wet, coat, or saturate; "dip the garment into the cleaning solution"; "dip the brush into the paint"
	2.	dabble - play in or as if in water, as of small children splash around, paddle play - be at play; be engaged in playful activity; amuse oneself in a way characteristic of children; "The kids were playing outside all day"; "I used to play with trucks as a little girl"
	3.	dabble - work with in an amateurish manner; "She dabbles in astronomy"; "He plays around with investments but he never makes any money" smatter, play around busy, occupy - keep busy with; "She busies herself with her butterfly collection"
	4.	dabble - bob forward and under so as to feed off the bottom of a body of water; "dabbling ducks" bob - move up and down repeatedly; "her rucksack bobbed gently on her back"

---

dabble

verb (usually with in or with) play at or with, toy (with), potter, tinker (with), trifle (with), flirt with, dip into, fiddle with, dally (with), scratch the surface of, have a smattering of, potter about or around or round with She dabbled with drugs at University.

Translations

dabble [ˈdæbl]

A. VT → salpicar, mojar
to dabble one's hands/feet in water → chapotear con las manos/los pies en el agua

B. VI (fig) to dabble in sth → hacer algo/interesarse por algo superficialmente
to dabble in politics → ser politiquero, politiquear
to dabble in shares → jugar a la bolsa
I only dabble in it → para mí es un pasatiempo nada más

---

dabble [ˈdæb^əl] vi

[amateur]
Are they composers? - Not really, although they dabble → Ce sont des compositeurs? - Pas vraiment, mais ils composent en dilettante.
Is she an artist? - Not really, she dabbles → C'est une artiste? - Pas vraiment, elle peint en dilettante.

[drug-user] → tâter de la drogue
She dabbled with drugs → Elle tâtait de la drogue.

dabble in

vt [+ politics, antiques] → tâter de
dab hand n (British) (= expert) to be a dab hand at sth → être doué(e) en qch
He wasn't such a dab hand in the kitchen → Il n'était pas aussi doué à la cuisine.
to be a dab hand at doing sth → être doué(e) pour faire qch

---

dabble

vt to dabble one’s hands/feet in the water → mit den Händen/Füßen im Wasser plan(t)schen

vi

(with hands, feet) → plan(t)schen

(fig) to dabble in/at something → sich (nebenbei) mit etw beschäftigen; are you a serious photographer? — no, I only dabble (in it) → beschäftigen Sie sich ernsthaft mit der Fotografie? — nein, nur so nebenbei; he dabbles in stocks and shares/antiques → er versucht sich an der Börse/in Antiquitäten

---

dabble [ˈdæbl]

1. vt to dabble one's hands/feet in the water → sguazzare con le mani/i piedi nell'acqua

2. vi (fig) to dabble in sth → occuparsi di qc a tempo perso, dilettarsi di qc
to dabble in politics → dilettarsi di politica

---

dabble [ˈdæbl]

1. vt to dabble one's hands/feet in the water → sguazzare con le mani/i piedi nell'acqua

2. vi (fig) to dabble in sth → occuparsi di qc a tempo perso, dilettarsi di qc
to dabble in politics → dilettarsi di politica

---

dabble

v dabble [ˈdӕbl]

1 to play, or trail, in water He dabbled his feet in the river. spat, plas يَلْعَبُ بِقَدَمَيْهِ بالماء، يُبَلِّل мокря máchat (si) plaske; dyppe plätschern τσαλαβουτώ chapotear solistama آب بازی کردن؛ شلپ شلوپ کردن polskia barboter לְשַׁכשֵך בְּמָיִם पानी में खेलना prskati,pljuskati megnedvesít mencelupkan sulla, busla bagnare 水をぱちゃぱちゃする (발 등으로) 물장난을 치다 pliuškenti(s) šļakstīties; plunčāties celup poedelen plaske (med), dyppe moczyć chapinhar a (se) bălăci барахтать(ся) plačkať sa, močiť sa čofotati praćkati se doppa, plaska med เล่นน้ำ suda oynatmak 弄濕，濺濕 плескати(ся), хлюпати(ся) تھوڑے سے پانی وغیرہ میں ہاتھ یا پاؤں ڈال کر ہلانا nhúng 弄湿，溅湿

2 to do anything in a half-serious way or as a hobby He dabbles in chemistry. iets as ʼn liefhebbery beoefen, jou so ʼn bietjie met iets besig hou يَشْتَغِل على سَبيلِ الهِوايَه занимавам се с fušovat (do) fuske; rode lidt (med) sich oberflächlich mit etwas befassen ασχολούμαι ερασιτεχνικά aficionarse ajaviiteks tegelema سرسری کار کردن harrastella faire un peu de (en amateur) לְהִתעָסֵק מֵעָט ऊपरी ढंग से करना baviti se nečim amaterski, miješati se u nešto beleártja magát vmibe berbuat sesuatu secara iseng káka (við), föndra (við) dilettarsi di 道楽半分にやる 장난 삼아 하다 mėgėjiškai užsiiminėti neprofesionāli nodarboties menceburkan diri liefhebberen fuske, drive sporadisk bawić się entreter-se a cocheta (cu) увлекаться fušovať šušmariti, ukvarjati se (s čim) petljati se syssla lite med, fuska med ทำเล่น ๆ ไม่จริงจัง amatörce uğraşmak 把...作為興趣愛好嘗試一下 займатися чимсь поверхово کسی کام یا مضمون میں شوقیہ یا سطحی دلچسپی لینا học đòi 把...作为兴趣爱好尝试一下