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Webster 1913 Edition


Drib

Drib

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Dribbed
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Dribbing
.]
[Cf.
Drip
.]
To do by little and little
; as:
(a)
To cut off by a little at a time; to crop.
(b)
To appropriate unlawfully; to filch; to defalcate.
(c)
To lead along step by step; to entice.
With daily lies she
dribs
thee into cost.
Dryden.

Drib

,
Verb.
T.
&
I.
(Archery)
To shoot (a shaft) so as to pierce on the descent.
[Obs.]
Sir P. Sidney.

Drib

,
Noun.
1.
A drop.
[Obs.]
Swift.
2.
a small portion or small amount of anything; – used mostly in the phrase dribs and drabs.

Webster 1828 Edition


Drib

DRIB

,
Verb.
T.
To crop or cut off; to defalcate.

DRIB

,
Noun.
A drop. [Not used.]

Definition 2024


drib

drib

English

Verb

drib (third-person singular simple present dribs, present participle dribbing, simple past and past participle dribbed)

  1. (transitive) To cut off; chop off.
  2. (transitive) To cut off little by little; cheat by small and reiterated tricks; purloin.
  3. (transitive) To entice step by step.
    • Dryden
      With daily lies she dribs thee into cost.
  4. To appropriate unlawfully; to embezzle.
    • Dryden
      He who drives their bargain dribs a part.
  5. (transitive, archery) To shoot directly at short range.
  6. (intransitive, archery) To shoot at a mark at short range.
  7. (transitive, archery) To shoot (a shaft) so as to pierce on the descent.
    • Sir Philip Sidney
      Not at first sight, nor with a dribbèd shot, / Love gave the wound [...] (Astrophil and Stella, Sonnet 2)
  8. (transitive, now chiefly Britain dialectal) To beat; thrash; drub.
  9. (transitive, now chiefly Britain dialectal) To scold.
  10. (transitive, now chiefly Britain dialectal, marbles) To strike another player's marble when playing from the trigger.

Etymology 2

From a variant of drip.

Noun

drib (plural dribs)

  1. (obsolete) A drop.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Jonathan Swift to this entry?)
Derived terms

Anagrams