Fribble
adj, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 A trifling action.
- 2 A trifler.
- 3 A frivolous, contemptible fellow; a fop.
"The plot of the piece was quite a new one. A young woman was repreſented with a great number of ſuitors, ſelecting a pert fribble of a peer, in place of the hero; […]"
- 1 To waste or fritter.
- 2 To behave in a frivolous way.
"The parish districts--and especially their lady visitors--declared that they were neglected; the rector never got a quiet cup of tea in his own house, nor even a quiet placid moment; for the sounds of young people laughing and, as Mrs. Fretchett called it, "fribbling" upstairs would float down to him working in his study, and then he would pish and pshaw, and move his chair impatiently."
- 3 To totter.
- 1 Of little or no importance, frivolous.
Example
More examples"The parish districts--and especially their lady visitors--declared that they were neglected; the rector never got a quiet cup of tea in his own house, nor even a quiet placid moment; for the sounds of young people laughing and, as Mrs. Fretchett called it, "fribbling" upstairs would float down to him working in his study, and then he would pish and pshaw, and move his chair impatiently."
Etymology
Perhaps related to frivol.
More for "fribble"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.