Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - dribble

 I. verb  (~d; dribbling)  Etymology: frequentative of drib to ~  Date: circa 1589  transitive verb  1. to issue sporadically and in small bits  2. to let or cause to fall in drops little by little  3.  a. to propel by successive slight taps or bounces with hand, foot, or stick ~ a basketball ~ a puck  b. to hit (as a baseball) so as to cause a slow bouncing  intransitive verb  1. to fall or flow in drops or in a thin intermittent stream ; trickle  2. to let saliva trickle from the corner of the mouth ; drool  3. to come or issue in piecemeal or desultory fashion  4.  a. to ~ a ball or puck  b. to proceed by dribbling  c. of a ball to move with short bounces  • ~r noun  II. noun  Date: circa 1680  1. a tiny or insignificant bit or quantity  2. a small trickling stream or flow  3. an act, instance, or manner of dribbling a ball or puck  • dribbly adjective