scribbled; scribbling
ˈskri-b(ə-)liŋ 
; scribbles
; scribbles
1
: to write or draw hastily or carelessly
a note scribbled on the back of an envelope
Harriet scribbled in her notebook as soon as she took her seat.—
Louise Fitzhugh
Louise FitzhughHe took a stump of lead pencil out of his pocket and scribbled a moustache on the lion's upper lip and then a pair of spectacles on its eyes.—C. S. Lewis
C. S. Lewis2
: to fill or cover something with careless or worthless writings or drawings
a scribbled envelope
… papers … scribbled over with clues …—English Digest
English Digest
plural scribbles
: a piece of writing or a drawing that is done quickly or carelessly
She could barely make out the doctor's scribble.
a page covered with random scribbles
… he pulled a thick wad of envelopes from the inside of the pillowcase he was wearing. Harry could make out Hermione's neat writing, Ron's untidy scrawl, and even a scribble that looked as though it was from the Hogwarts gamekeeper, Hagrid.—J. K. Rowling
J. K. Rowling
Synonyms
Examples of scribble in a Sentence
Verb
She scribbled a note to him and then dashed off to her meeting.
He scribbled down his phone number.
Students scribbled furiously as the professor lectured.
She was scribbling away in a notebook.
The toddler scribbled all over the paper.
Recent Examples on the WebGeoff Whitmore, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024
Just make sure to scribble the date of purchase on the jar with a Sharpie, and aim to use it within 1–2 years.
—Carly Westerfield, Bon Appétit, 9 Mar. 2024
Bocanegra was scribbling notes to herself on the script.
—Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2024
The menu is a list of salads, cured meats and cheeses for antipasti, sandwiches served on focaccia and pasta dishes scribbled on a whiteboard.
—Jill Cassidy, The Arizona Republic, 16 Jan. 2024
Other artists, like Joseph Beuys, who scribbled out a quasi-Marxist manifesto, and Dalí, had been born early enough in the 20th century to know the full enormity of Nazism, fascism and the Second World War.
—Philip Kennicott, Washington Post, 25 Mar. 2024
Image Image And unlike pop-culture portrayals of theoretical physicists — solitarily scribbling away on blackboards, enveloped in clouds of chalk dust — Dr. Massey likes working with people.
—Katrina Miller, New York Times, 19 Mar. 2024
Chanda clung to copies of Melody Maker and scribbled down lyrics from his idols like the Rolling Stones, James Brown, Grand Funk Railroad and Black Sabbath, who pumped out of jukeboxes and radio stations.
—Tracy Kawalik, SPIN, 5 Mar. 2024
Grab a set of themed blank cards, make a cup of hot tea, throw on a Hallmark movie, and get to scribbling.
—Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 5 Feb. 2024
Jackson Arn, The New Yorker, 22 Mar. 2024
For them, graffiti is a synonym for defacement and vandalism — and gangs marking out turf and messaging their enemies with menacing scribbles.
—Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2024
Neither chatbot was able to create completely legible text for the invite, but results from Gemini Advanced were worse—closer to scribbles than actual words.
—Reece Rogers, WIRED, 15 Feb. 2024
Literary computers scribble everywhere now in the background, powering search engines, recommendations systems, and customer service chatbots.
—TIME, 8 Feb. 2024
Since Belichick's history-making scribble, the Jets have had seven different head coaches and no Super Bowl appearances.
—David K. Li, NBC News, 11 Jan. 2024
But what happened at Oceanwide Plaza wasn’t some spur of the moment scribble.
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 3 Feb. 2024
Others say that the text is an artificial language or strange shorthand, and others still see the text as meaningless scribbles.
—Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 31 Jan. 2024
The house looks lived in with furniture from different eras and childhood scribbles hidden in closet walls.
—Gieson Cacho, The Mercury News, 19 Jan. 2024
Verb
This tool doesn’t require switching apps and has circling, highlighting, scribbling, and tapping capabilities to learn more about that particular snippet.
—Geoff Whitmore, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024
Just make sure to scribble the date of purchase on the jar with a Sharpie, and aim to use it within 1–2 years.
—Carly Westerfield, Bon Appétit, 9 Mar. 2024
Bocanegra was scribbling notes to herself on the script.
—Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2024
The menu is a list of salads, cured meats and cheeses for antipasti, sandwiches served on focaccia and pasta dishes scribbled on a whiteboard.
—Jill Cassidy, The Arizona Republic, 16 Jan. 2024
Other artists, like Joseph Beuys, who scribbled out a quasi-Marxist manifesto, and Dalí, had been born early enough in the 20th century to know the full enormity of Nazism, fascism and the Second World War.
—Philip Kennicott, Washington Post, 25 Mar. 2024
Image Image And unlike pop-culture portrayals of theoretical physicists — solitarily scribbling away on blackboards, enveloped in clouds of chalk dust — Dr. Massey likes working with people.
—Katrina Miller, New York Times, 19 Mar. 2024
Chanda clung to copies of Melody Maker and scribbled down lyrics from his idols like the Rolling Stones, James Brown, Grand Funk Railroad and Black Sabbath, who pumped out of jukeboxes and radio stations.
—Tracy Kawalik, SPIN, 5 Mar. 2024
Grab a set of themed blank cards, make a cup of hot tea, throw on a Hallmark movie, and get to scribbling.
—Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 5 Feb. 2024
Noun
Nothing in these nervous scribbles feels final; Garner, like nature, is always just spitballing.
—Jackson Arn, The New Yorker, 22 Mar. 2024
For them, graffiti is a synonym for defacement and vandalism — and gangs marking out turf and messaging their enemies with menacing scribbles.
—Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2024
Neither chatbot was able to create completely legible text for the invite, but results from Gemini Advanced were worse—closer to scribbles than actual words.
—Reece Rogers, WIRED, 15 Feb. 2024
Literary computers scribble everywhere now in the background, powering search engines, recommendations systems, and customer service chatbots.
—TIME, 8 Feb. 2024
Since Belichick's history-making scribble, the Jets have had seven different head coaches and no Super Bowl appearances.
—David K. Li, NBC News, 11 Jan. 2024
But what happened at Oceanwide Plaza wasn’t some spur of the moment scribble.
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 3 Feb. 2024
Others say that the text is an artificial language or strange shorthand, and others still see the text as meaningless scribbles.
—Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 31 Jan. 2024
The house looks lived in with furniture from different eras and childhood scribbles hidden in closet walls.
—Gieson Cacho, The Mercury News, 19 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'scribble.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Dictionary Entries Near scribble
Cite this Entry
“Scribble.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scribble. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
Etymology
Verb
Middle English scriblen "to write hurriedly or carelessly," from Latin scribillare (same meaning), from earlier scribere "to write" — related to scribe
More from Merriam-Webster on scribble
Nglish: Translation of scribble for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of scribble for Arabic Speakers
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