dab•bleˈdæb əl(v.)-bled, -bling.

1. (v.i.)to play and splash in or as if in water, esp. with the hands.

2. to work at anything in an irregular or superficial manner:

   to dabble in literature.

3. (of a duck) to feed on shallow-water vegetation with rapid, splashing movements of the bill.

   Category: Ornithology

4. (v.t.)to wet slightly in or with a liquid; splash; spatter.

Origin of dabble:

1550–60; prob. dab1+ -le

dab′bling•ly(adv.)