drib
To cut off; chop offTo cut off; chop off.
» The guests arrived in dribs and drabs.
Meaning
10 senses(transitive)To cut off; chop off.
(transitive)To cut off little by little; cheat by small and reiterated tricks; purloin.
(transitive)To entice step by step.
To appropriate unlawfully; to embezzle.
(transitive)To shoot directly at short range.
(intransitive)To shoot at a mark at short range.
(transitive)To shoot (a shaft) so as to pierce on the descent.
(UK, dialectal, transitive)To beat; thrash; drub.
(UK, dialectal, transitive)To scold.
(UK, dialectal, transitive)To strike another player's marble when playing from the trigger.
Examples
3 sentencesThe guests arrived in dribs and drabs.
Information is coming through in dribs and drabs.
ruИнформация поступает обрывками. — marafon
deNach und nach sickern Informationen durch. — Pfirsichbaeumchen
Information is coming through in dribs and drabs. A clear picture is yet to emerge.
deNur langsam sickern Informationen durch. Ein klares Bild muss sich erst noch abzeichnen. — Pfirsichbaeumchen
Origin
From dialectal English drib (compare also drub), a variant from Middle English drepen (“toFrom dialectal English drib (compare also drub), a variant from Middle English drepen (“to hit, strike, slay”), from Old English drepan (“to strike, kill, overcome”), from Proto-Germanic *drepaną (“to hit, strike”).
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Forms
dribs, dribbing, dribbed, dribbedWord family
1 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle